Phyllis
by Filosofie
Summary: Asterix fic: Once upon a time, Vitalstatistix decided that with the magic potion, their village had nothing left to fear but the sky falling on their heads. But is it really the most powerful weapon in the world?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Asterix and Obelix, their villagers and all their villagers are created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo._

-"I'm telling you, Asterix, we should go and have a talk with the Romans after dinner, they are bad influence."

-"Bad influence on the boars. Yeah they'll like to hear that. You should tell that to Old Jules next time we see them. I'd love to see his reaction"

The well-covered Gaul looked at his much smaller friend in disdain.

"You are not taking this serious, Asterix, I mean what good would that do? It is not Jules that sneaks through the forest every day, showing them hideouts and teaching them to walk on tip-toe"

"Boars always walk on tip-toe Obelix, they are called hooves"

Obelix sniffed. "You're all fun and games now, but without MY hunting dog," (he pointed towards the black and white spot that was currently Dogmatix, half covered from sight by the bushes he was investigating) "YOU would be eating Unhygienix' Lutetia-imported fish. Not that I am saying there is no good food over in Lutetia, he just picks out all the wrong stuff. We should go there and seek out some addresses for him."

Asterix rolled his eyes at the pointlessness of their conversation. Still he could not resist to counter: "I wouldn't be so sure, Bravura is getting better every day. She might give Dogmatix a run for his money soon."

Obelix immediately looked more cheerful hearing his best friend use the much-discussed name for the most obstinate part of Dogmatix' off-spring. He cheered up even more when Dogmatix gave an enthusiastic bark and raced off at inhuman speed.

"You gave him magic potion again?" "

Well, he makes better use of it than you, Hurry up a little!" The last part sounded a little far away, since Obelix had gone after his dog at equal speed. Rolling his eyes again, Asterix set to catch up with them. He had already taken his swig of potion, because all jokes aside, the wild boars did get harder to find every day.

A few moments later, Obelix was carrying two boars under his arms, and Asterix had one over his shoulder. Obelix was just about to come back on the point he was trying to make earlier, when an unfamiliar voice interrupted him:

"Quite an impressive way of hunting you young men have."

A few meters in front of them, an old man was leaning on what seemed to be a walking stick. Asterix looked around, not a little surprised. He had not seen the old man approaching them, yet, there he was right in front of them. The man looked rather fragile; his travelling cloak was slightly frayed at the edges and his beard a little tangled. He looked like someone who could use a few meals from a Belgian village, thin to the point of being bony. In his younger years, he had to have been quite tall, but this was less visible now, since his back was crooked and he leant forward, seemingly squeezing his eyes to observe them.

Obelix had already walked up to the stranger.

"Impressive and effective", look!" He held out the two wild boars so the old man could investigate.

"Most effective indeed. Tell me, is everyone around here this fast? I'm an old man, maybe I'm just getting slower myself, but still you two move like lightning to me."

Obelix was eager to explain.

"It's because I fell into the magic potion, when I was little".

He threw a side-ward glance as if expecting Asterix to drop in. But Asterix looked quite immobile, his hand to his chin, one wing of his helmet straight up, while the other was bended. He was trying to figure the stranger out. Since Asterix did not explain his own super strength, Obelix continued: "But for Asterix..."

Suddenly his little friend jumped to live, cutting of Obelix' sentence and finishing quickly "It didn't do much for my size." he said with a little smile. "But yeah, I also fell into some magic potion back at our home village and the effect lasted ever since. It IS quite handy.

Obelix stared at him like he had gone completely crazy. Seemingly frozen, he moved his mouth without uttering any sound. Trying his best to distract the stranger from his best friends' odd behaviour, Asterix offered, "Maybe you would like to come and share lunch with us? You shouldn't wander the forest, it tends to get a little busy sometimes. Romans, wild animals..."

Suddenly Asterix felt a strange sensation going through him. He did not stop talking voluntarily and his partly outstretched hand came to a stop. He was paralyzed and at the same time he saw the old man grow taller; he did no longer lean on his walking stick and his eyes bore a darkish gleam."Oh not to worry, my friend, I can still stand my ground" He let his eyes pass over an equally immobilized Obelix. "I have other occupations right now, but it is always nice to make new acquaintances. Good day gentleman, enjoy your meals."

With this, he turned and walked away. There was no rush in his pace, no reason to hurry. A friendly dismissal; as if he was just another villager with some previous appointment. But only when the stranger was well out of view, Asterix felt his power to react return; the power over his own limbs returned so suddenly he almost stumbled on his own legs. Half-set on following the stranger, he stepped forward a little, but Obelix held him back quite forcibly:

"Are you KIDDING me?" You fell into the magic potion too?"

"Obelix, did you not just feel...."

"Completely and utterly stunned? Yes? Falling into the magic potion is not something to joke about. Your WERE joking right? Right??"

Obelix shook him back and forth a little, which added to the dizziness Asterix felt, both at the situation and how it completely escaped his larger friend, àgain. There was no telling whether they experienced the same thing...

"Of course I was," he mumbled.

"It was not a joke though, it seemed better not to let this man know we have a druid who supplies us with magic potion."

"Well, that won't be a secret for long, the Romans never quit nagging about it, They even instruct boars to be sneaky, let alone wandering old men."

"You're right," Asterix answered. "I think it is better to return home and tell Getafix soon."

"OR we could visit the Roman camps and convince them to keep the magic potion a secret", Obelix proposed eagerly.

"I have a feeling we'd better not show off in front of this guy, Obelix, let's go home." Asterix spoke so softly that Obelix did not continue. He realized that something was off. As they set course in the direction of their home village, neither of them noticed the small figure that had followed their conversation and now carefully went after them through the summer-green forest. Like a shadow, gliding from tree, to tree, its presence was noted only by the old man with the gleaming eyes. But he had other occupations…


	2. Chapter 2

When they were approaching the village gates, they could see a gathering of villagers there. Asterix was immediately filled with trepidation, and raced the last part of the way, Obelix on his heels. As soon as they were amongst the crow, it became immediately clear that there no danger. Everyone was chattering excitedly, laughing and joking. Their return wasn't even noticed. Not even by the unusally perspective Getafix. Soon it became clear why. He stood right next to the source of all the commotion: A simple chart with two white horses in front.

A young woman was petting the horses, while some villagers were unharnessing them. She gave them something from a leather pouch that hung around her shoulders. Suddenly, she looked over her shoulder and looked right in his direction. Her eyes travelled his faces for a moment, then she looked up and met Obelix' eyes for a moment. She started smiling, and walked towards them.

"You must be Obelix and Asterix," she said, with a warm and melodic voice. "I've heard from you and it is a real pleasure to be meet you. My name is Bonny." She extended her hand to greet them.

From the corner of his eye, Asterix could see his best friend color slightly. He couldn't blame him really, cause the woman he was now shaking hands with, was really quite a pleasant appearance. She was of average height, not as long as Mrs Geriatrix, maybe a head shorter than Obelix. Her hair was red and wavy and went half-way down her back. The sun gave it a beautiful shine. The first part of her hair was braided and went round her head, keeping the curls from falling into her face. A good thing, because, her slightly almond shaped-eyes were not shielded from their view. They were a warm brown, with golden speckles in them, and meeting her gaze made the bad feeling Asterix still had from their earlier meeting in the forest float away to a distant corner of his head.

Obelix thoughts seemed to have floated away completely, all of them. Still, he managed to extend his hand enough for Bonny to capture it with both hands for a moment. Every gesture she made was sort of soothing, warm and friendly, and Asterix could not help but feel that this was a bit unusual; it was normal associate people you knew well with things like that, but he was completely sure he had never seen this girl before. Her clothing was not quite familiar to him either, a long white skirt and a loose shirt with a v-shaped neck, and sleeves halfway her arms, framed with brown borders, the same color as the top she wore under it and the small brown belt around her waist. It was simple, but this did not make her appearance less radiant.

Asterix went to Getafix, and to his surprise, he spotted a second woman with similar clothing standing close to the druid. Only her dress was completely white, with a blue belt and travelling cape over it, and she looked like the female version of a druid (or what a druid looked like according to Asterix). She was much older than Bonny, her white grey her was in a bun at the back of her head (kinda like his mom's) and she had numerous wrinkles. However, her eyes were a radiant blue and she looked at him with the same perceptiveness as Getafix.

From his shield, their chief beamed at them and started his well-known introduction: "Yes, Yes, Asterix and Obelix, My two very best warriors. The very best in the world, I might add. They have shown the courage that marks my villagers to every part of the so called 'conquered' world and far beyond. They have travelled the seas to confirm that our freedom has no borders and that we still and will always defy the Eagle's hegemony…." The rest of his speech drowned in the chattering that overtuned him, as it always did. Asterix turned to Getafix, looking for the second part of the introduction. The part that would explain who the ladies were.

Getafix put a hand on his shoulder and much quieter than their chief, he started his own introduction.

"Manilla, my dear friend, meet Asterix, He and Obelix are indeed excellent warriors. The magic potion may have given them strength. But the strength of their hearts is their own. They have used it wisely for the majority of their lives."Manilla extended her hand to shake Obelix's and after that she took Asterix's. He felt her eyes linger while Getafix went on "Asterix is, as you know, my brightest student. His wit may have saved our village more often than my potion. He is also one of my closest and most trusted friends. Whatever may have caused you to visit us on such a short notice, you and your student are in good hands here."

Asterix was so used to hear their chief boast about them, he got distracted like the other villagers. But Getafix compliments, a lot rarer, created a deep pool of happiness and pride, maybe a little shyness. He knew Getafix considered him a friend, and Asterix fully returned the sentiment. But Getafix had led a whole life before he was even born. He also, had travelled the world, studying and meeting people in every corner. To be placed on such a high shelve by someone like him, was an extreme honor, but it also created a certain responsibility. It would have been easy to linger on the joy of the moment, if he had missed the slight worry in the last part of Getafix'statement. A short-notice visit that made their druid suspect something was wrong.

Manilla, however did not look like a typical person in immediate need of saving, and neither did her attractive student (though Obelix, probably wouldn't have minded if she did). So he just smiled back at her and expressed his welcome. "I have heard a lot of you indeed, my dear boy." (Coming from someone twice, maybe three times his age, it lost every belittling sense) "But as I know Getafix guards other peoples' secrets like his own, you should have no idea of who we are." "I don't," Asterix confirmed. Suddenly Obelix sprung back to life, for the second time that day. "I sense a long, detailed story coming up," he said. "We should give it full credit, with a proper feast and dinner." "And since we're not telling the story, we'll have more time for the dinner part of the feast," he added softly to Asterix, who started to look irritated already. Luckily, Getafix interrupted before an argument could come up, and surprisingly, he sided with Obelix. "Indeed, a story like that can use a more comfortable scene. Luckily we are well-prepared for occasions like these. Obelix, maybe you could guide our guests?" A moment later, both guests and Obelix had set off in the direction of the place where they usually held their feasts, and Asterix was left with Getafix as Obelix started a tour on the preparation of boars and feasts in general.

"Getafix, did you know…" "I had no idea they were coming, Asterix, I would have told you if I did. It is highly unusual for Manilla to leave behind her students…But I might be wrong. After all, she has shown up on some of our druid conferences as well." "So, is she a druid than?" It seemed odd to Asterix. Not that the thought of a woman being a druid itself, was thàt strange, but Panoramix had treated it as a ridiculous idea when he had suggested it before. Also, as far as he knew, Druids only picked one student at a time, since becoming a druid was a long and intensive process.

"No, not really, though her wisdom is certainly similar. For example, she can brew the potion I gave to the roman back at that divided village. In fact, she is an expert healer." Asterix waited to hear more, but when Getafix did not continue, he said "I thought only druids were allowed in the sacred forest". "Yes, well that didn't stop you or Obelix, or the Romans from entering," Getafix answered dryly. "That rule seems to be valuable only if you àre a druid." After a moment he continued. "I will let Manilla tell you more; she will like to properly introduce herself and her students. Just let me say this, my potions can cure a lot of things, but when I call her an expert healer, I do not mean just by brewing potions or physical knowledge." They had almost reached the dinner table when Getafix stopped Asterix in his tracks. "You are very quiet. Is something wrong?"

"Well, just that we met someone else back in the forest. And if you say Bonny and Manilla have special powers, the old man we saw in the forest, he seemed to have some sort of controlling powers that had nothing to do with potions either. It left me immobilized even under the effect of the magic potion."

Getafix looked pensive. "Did this 'old person' introduce himself?"

"Not really, and he left before I could ask"

"Yet you seem to consider him as a possible threat,"

Asterix started to feel stupid, he could not explain why he had not been able to follow the stranger, nor why he felt so bad about seeing him. "Well he just had some strange effect on…the forest in general I guess. Though I'm not sure Obelix felt the same."

"Hmmm." Getafix fumbled his beard for a moment. "How do you know that Bonny is also a healer?" I do not believe she had the chance to tell you that?"

"I just assumed…" Even as he started to say it, it did not sound as a satisfying explanation. And it was not entirely true. "Well she seems to radiate some sort of …soothing…." That sounded even more stupid. But Getafix looked satisfied, even a little content.

"Well, I already assumed this would not a leisure visit. Let's just hear them out first. Manila may be a bit of a character, she has my trust. And Bonny is not just a random student to her. Now, Obelix seems to have saved us seats. Let's go there, because I doubt he will do the same with the food."

Asterix smiled. There were some certainties in life, and Obelix was just one of the biggest ones.


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Of course I owe only my OC's. I guess you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't knew who the characters belonging to the incredible duo Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo were, so no point in elaborating._

_P.S. Special thanks to you Crazy Beaver, for all the support. Not just in writing. Everything is going fine over here. This story will really be quite long, so I don't intend to finish soon, but I do intend to keep updating it on a regular basis. I'll keep you informed!_

_P.S.S I will edit this and the previous chapter before writing the next...just taking out some spelling and typing errors. So if you find them (no WHEN you find them :)) do not hesitate to point them out. And all other feedback is as welcome as ever of course._

_With the setting sun and the growing fire as her background, Manilla started her story. Getafix had formally introduced her as a friend he made during his travels. He had also acted like her visit was something he had expected, and that had been planned between the two of them. This had the desired result. Most of the villagers just turned to the opportunity for a party. Apart from Asterix and Getafix, only Obelix, Vitalstatistix and Impedimenta moved closer when the bright-eyed woman announced it was time to tell them more._

"Well, I did meet Getafix on one of his travels. This does not mean some far away exotic country; it means my home town, close to the borders of Belgica. It looks very much like this village, also near the coast, although it lies on a cliff. When the weather is clear,you can see the coast of Britain on the other side. We even communicate with a village on the other side of the coast on a regular basis."

"But I'm deviating. This is the place where I grew up, and the forests behind the village are rich in herbs and berries. Many druids passed during their studies, to learn their names and their characteristics. Getafix was no exception. But most druids are secretive and do not like other people around when they gather ingredients. Since their potions can turn into poison when they are not brewed and used wisely, this is a general policy amongst druids. However, Getafix convinced Methusix to take me along on some of their trips."

"It took little effort to do so," Getafix added. "In fact, we were lingering at the village because it fascinated us. There was no druid, no one who seemed to have medical background, yet people who cut their finger had no scars on it a few days later. Their leader came down with a serious flue and we were preparing him a potion to reduce his fever. By the time it was ready, he was back on his feet and on his shield. It was truly magical, and a little frustrating I might add. We tried to find the source of this power that cured virtually everything in the village, but it seemed to be a very heavily guarded secret. To invite one of the inhabitants that seemed like the most curious ones to me, was just another attempt to discover it."

"Only there was no secret." Manilla said. "I have been blessed with a my power to fasten any healing process since I was born, like most of my students are." But I did not understand how they worked, how they could be concentrated or strengthened. I could not explain them. Moreover, I believed that is was a power every druid naturally possessed, so my ultimate goal was to become one."

"She was so convinced of this, that had we not had an accident involving a golden sickle and my unfortunate forearm, we would have left the village without being any wiser" Getafix rubbed his right arm unconsciously. "Maybe I was a little easier to distract back then," he added with a twinkle in his eye.

"Were you?" Manilla tucked a strand of her back at its place, "It seemed to me you were so determined to find out "the secret" that you just decided to find out the hard way. By cutting your arm half of and seeing if something would heal it."

"Yes, that was indeed a more satisfying explanation."

"I had no idea what to do, but in my attempt to keep him from bleeding to death while Methusix prepared a bandage, I put both my hands on the wound, and it started to close before my eyes. Mind you, this was the very first time I healed someone directly. Usually, I thought about the person who was ill or injured, and it had a healing effect. Like wishing someone better."

"Only much more effective"

"So I got quite a shock over what happened. In a way, I was more surprised than Getafix, who seemed to have wrapped his mind around the idea already."

Impedimenta's eyes bulged out in surprise. "Curing wounds with your hands. That's true magic! Well, not that the Magic potion isn't," she added, with a worried glance towards Getafix. "But still, the difference it could make…" she fell silent, looking at her husband this time, who gave her a little squeeze.

"Yes, Impedimenta, you and Vitalstatistix remember times in which this power was the most desired one in our world," Getafix confirmed. "As do I. But even miraculous things have their limits. I had had the impression that curing could come from more than just potions for quite some time before I met Ma nilla. She displayed this 'more' on such a high level that it became blindingly obvious. However, there are few stories without a twist."

Manilla cut right back in, and Asterix got the distinct impression that it was not the first time she and Getafix told this story.

"You might say miraculous, but healing powers are not that rare at all. In fact, every living being has the power to heal."

"Over time, and with good care, most things heal." Asterix said automatically. Everyone stared at him, and he was reminded of the time they had stood around a table and were lectured about the future by mea,s of a fish. He had not meant to sound critical at all, just thought out loud. He fought the urge to defend himself.

Manilla looked at him too, and addressed him straight away. "Yes, but just with those two things? Maybe, perhaps you can think of something else? Have you ever had to fight injured? Or lacked the time and opportunity to rely on Getafix' potions? Can you imagine a situation like that." Asterix had to think it over. Sure, he had been out cold a few times. Not that often, and in the cases were it happened, he had surely not recovered abnormally fast. "Of course, you can still walk, or even fight, when you're injured, if it's necessary, but that does not make you cured…." Manilla nodded.

"You can want yourself better. Sometimes" Now everyone turned to Obelix, who reddened immediately. The red-haired Gaul looked at his best friend, who looked back at him in expectance.

"When I drank the magic potion again, and turned into a kid…" Manilla raised an a demonstrative eyebrow in the general direction of Getafix at this, but said nothing. "and nothing seemed to ever make me better. But later we were at a ship and the Romans were going to throw Asterix overboard, and then I wanted to be strong again so much, and it just happened."

Asterix had always doubted this explanation for Obelix returning to adulthood, but he would rather bite off his tongue than to voice this. After all, he was not conscious when it happened and voicing his doubt would somehow be like voicing his doubt over their friendship. And he fully believed it was powerful. It was just that Getafix potions had a tendency to wear off in time, so he could just have been lucky to have survived the whole adventure.

Obelix seemed to share his thoughts anyway, because he continued. "Of course, I wanted to return to normal before." Like when I wanted to give Fal..Fal…" he looked nervously in the direction of Bonny and suddenly lost his speech.

"Yeah," Asterix said quickly, "Obelix delivers menhirs for a living, and he absolutely loves it. He needs his strength for it of course, so he had every reason for wanting to return to an adult." Obelix looked at him thankfully and continued "so maybe it was just a coincidence? Since the effects of the potion wear off… I also changed from stone into a child…" Bonny's eyes widened considerably at hearing all the side effects of the magic potion. "Wow, I SO wanted to try this potion out, but I'm having seconds thoughts right now." she said, with a smile to Obelix, which meant he was lost to the conversation for a while.

"I don't think it wore off," Getafix said thoughtfully. "And I can assure you my young lady, that the effects of my potion, no matter how impressive, always wear off after some time, when it is consumed in reasonable quantities. An entire cauldron is just NOT a reasonable quantity. The other person who overdosed the magic potion is in fact still a statue standing in the middle of circus arena."

"Obelix," Bonny's voice woke him out of his temporary daze, "I'm sure these menhirs mean a lot to you, but how did it make you feel not being able to lift them anymore?"

Obelix seemed very uncomfortable with the question, and it didn't surprise Asterix. It was just quite personal, these people didn't know them for more than a few hours, and he sensed that the next question was going to be even more personal. But Obelix was no liar, or a coward, so he answered anyway. "Desperate, I mean, I can do other things than delivering menhirs, like going on adventures with Asterix, defend the village, but it all came down to the same thing, I really needed to be strong again, and I could not drink any potion to become strong, so it just seemed like it was all over." He looked miserable even recalling the feeling, and Asterix was surprised at the lengthy answer. Bonny smiled warmly and put her hand on Obelix arm. Rather than sending him into another bliss, it seemed to calm Obelix down. It was the second time Asterix clearly felt the special power radiating from the red-haided woman.

"And how did you feel at the ship, when they were going to throw Asterix off?"

Asterix saw his best friend flinch in distress and wanted to interfere, but one look from Getafix stopped him. He saw Bonny mastered her powers well, because Obelix was able to recollect himself and his answer came out quite calmly. "Like I would rather die myself. Cause it would be my fault if Asterix had died there. But even that wouldn't have mattered that much, because he's always been my best friend and I can just not even start to imagine life without him. I don't want to."

The difference between the two answers needed no further explanation, just some time to sink in. Asterix had to swallow a few times before whispering "right back at you, pall". It was lost to the others in the muttering of the other villagers, but Obelix returning smile made it clear that he had heard well. Bonny released her grip on Obelix arm and held up her hand with a warm look at Asterix. Her interference was no longer necessary.

Manilla scraped her throat. "Well, I could not really have found a better example to demonstrate how healing works. Of course there are things that help. Being of a forgiving and calm nature can help you focus. Some of us are genetically benefitted. Healer parents often stimulate the power in their children. And it can be trained, directed, focused, concentrated….I learned all these things and I'm transferring them to others now. But essentially it comes from the heart. And this makes it a power impossible to abuse. Which is what makes it impossible to abuse. In contradiction to druids, who focus on potions and knowledge that can be used and abused, for good and evil, I have the liberty to welcome anyone who wants to learn. Which is why we have an entire school of students.

"Rather than selecting the student, you have preselected your study material," Getafix confirmed. And yet, Asterix felt that Getafix was actually contradicting her. Manilla had no need to be distrustful of her students, like Getafix needed to be of for example Dubbelosix, but her liberty was constricted in another way. He nodded curtly to Getafix to indicate he understood.

Around them, the villagers were slowly retreating to their homes. It was getting quiet around them.

"Well, it has been a long day for us," Manilla said, nodding to Bonny, who was stifling a yawn behind her hand. "We'll tell you more about our school tomorrow, no worries." She added, addressing Asterix directly when he wanted to interrupt. "After the second wake-up call from the rooster at your place?"

Obelix tapped Asterix' shoulder "That means we can sleep in, it has a terrible cold."

"Not anymore," Bonny replied cheerfully over her shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

Asterix, Obelix, the village and all it's inhabitants, the roman camps and their centurions, Julius Cesar and the world as known in 50 B.C., hec the entire universe belongs to Albert Uderzo and Réné Goscinny. Except for Phyllis and her friends ? who belong to me. And Goliath, who belongs to no one.

Asterix could not catch sleep that night. He was a warrior. Officially this meant he was sent into battle when necessary. Just like all the other male villagers. But different from them, Asterix was still a warrior outside these battles. He was supposed to see trouble before it arrived, and avoid it from arriving at the village. He was supposed to help Vitalstatistix decide whether battle was wise or not.

He was not a guard. He was not supposed to stand in front of the village gates at night. But something told him that the trouble he sensed now would not politely knock the main entrance of their little village. He had informed Getafix of their encounter with the stranger in the village and maybe it was enough for now. Maybe Getafix already told Manilla and she had given him a satisfying explanation. Maybe. Asterix did not like maybe. But if Manilla had come to them for a reason, not just a leisure visit, she might not be able to handle the threat this stranger formed. Yes he was a threat, it was crystal clear to Asterix. Just as peace and calm radiated from Bonny, this stranger was all about silent threats. With this in mind, it was just impossible to fall asleep. So he left his bed and a snoring Obelix behind – after such a feast, Obelix would definitely not be in the mood for a nighttime stroll- and stepped into the night. Armed with his sword and his gourd, and ill-disguised with his winged helmet. He knew he would not blend into the night with his helmet, the wings stood out enormously against the dark. He was immediately recognizable. Which was handy to make a statement to romans, whose immediate reaction would be to run and hide and not to stick their noses where they don't belong. But not to sneak around with.

But Asterix was not planning anything big or secretive. Just make one tour around the village walls, have a little inspection of it, and the outline of the forest and the coast while he was at it. Convince himself that everything looked as it was supposed to look. Cacofonix had the best overview of the village, but he was never really on the lookout for anything other than inspiration.

He avoided the main entrance and the guards, who he did not want to alert, he just moved a few wooden poles aside (magic potion, remember) and got out at the back of the village. The sky was clear and lighted by stars. But fog was rising from the grass that bordered the village, as it often does at the end of the summer, when the days are still warm, but the nights quite cool. It made his surroundings a little hazy. Spooky maybe, if you were sensitive to that, which Asterix wasn't. The only thing that crossed his mind was that he would not easily be noticed. An advantage of his limited height, even when you counted his helmet.

He started to walk around the village, listening intently. But he heard only the sounds of nature and the sleeping village. Owls, squirrels, the rush the sea, one or two especially loud snorers (poor wives). The wind blowing through leaves that would soon start to yellow. Everything was at it was supposed to be. Not a soul to disturb the peace. Although they were surrounded by roman camps, those chaps knew better than to patrol at night. But of course, Asterix was not looking for them anyway. Was he looking for the old man he met in the forest. Somehow he doubted this man would need to sneak around at night, and if he did, Asterix was almost sure he would not be able to catch him doing it. He did not doubt his abilities as a warrior, but he díd doubt his alleged invincibility. Especially after today.

After walking around the village twice without noticing even the slightest thing out of the ordinary, Asterix returned to his hut. He was right, the stranger, who would become known to him tomorrow by the name of Mesmeron, was not watching him tonight. But someone else was lurking in the shadows, watching his every move. A small figure, who had glided silently from tree to tree as he walked, appearing and disappearing from sight but never truly visible. The figure studies his actions and tried to calculate his next move, wondering on a side note what mysterious power made the wings on his helmet move as if they were part of him. There was a time, somewhere in a past that fainted by the day, that this side-note would have been formed into a question, voiced out loud. Which would no doubt have startled Asterix in his present mood. But curiosity tends to kill the cat, and the figure felt it could not afford to feel any less alive. So the question remained unspoken, and as soon as Asterix went back to his hut, the figure retreated into the darkness of the forest.

P.S. It is a slightly shorter chapter than usual, but this seemed like a good place for a chapter break. I guess the next chapter will follow today as well….


	5. Chapter 5

Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo…created the universe I borrow for this piece of fanfic

The next morning, the rooster woke everyone up way too early and for once Asterix was almost as drowsy as Obelix usually was. But this morning, Obelix was up unusually early. He had started his "morning toilet" with much enthusiasm, and was now busy with breakfast. It pained Asterix to watch him. Bonny seemed to genuinely like Obelix, sure. But she was obviously one of Manilla's most trusted pupils. Sooner or later she would leave; it seemed already inevitable that Obelix was going to end up with a broken heart at the end of this adventure. And it might be worse this time. The most recent visit from their mothers had shaken them up a little. Both of them did not see the necessity of marrying. But when their intruding mothers were well out of sight, they both agreed that it might be nice, provided that the right girl ever came along. Of course they had met Bonny only yesterday, but she obviously qualified as a possibly right girl as far as Obelix was concerned.

"Are you coming, Asterix, I already set the table, breakfast is ready. The eggs will go cold!"

Asterix grinned. "Yes mum, I'm coming."

"Watch it, Rixiekins"

Obelix did not hurry in vain, because Manilla and Bonny were already at the door when Asterix climbed down the stairs.

During a glorious breakfast (after all,Obelix was the one who prepared it) Manilla told them much more about life at her teaching institute, which they called the Forest house. They instructed anyone who seemed to have more than regular healing abilities. Almost all of her pupils were girls, but this was not a rule. Since they could not become druids, they were just more likely to seek the guidance the Forest house tried to offer them. Some healers went back to their usual lives once they could use their powers to an extent that seemed comfortable to them. Some stayed, some travelled to a place where they could be of assistance. It was all very interesting, but Asterix felt it was hight time to inform Manilla about his unusual encounter of the previous day. Once he started on the subject, he felt the atmosphere thicken considerably. Bonny stared at Manilla, looking stricken. Manilla herself did not look surprised, obviously Getafix had already informed her.

"I did not want to worry you even before today my dear", she said to Bonny, "But I told you Mesmeron would turn his interest on this village sooner or later."

"Who is Mesmeron?" Asterix inquired.

"I will tell you in a moment. But could you first tell us how you encountered him? Getafix told me that you could tell he meant trouble, and I really want to know how. Normally, Mesmeron is quite an expert at hiding is true intentions, and I doubt he meant for you to sense them."

So Asterix briefly recalled the meeting, and how he had felt unable to move once the stranger's (Mesmeron's) gaze fell upon him.

"I can't explain it very well, but he seemed to have an effect on the atmosphere. A little like Bonny, but while she has a sort of soothing effect on her surroundings, this stranger seemed to just freeze everything. It was … unpleasant, threatening maybe."

Obelix looked from Asterix to Bonny and back in astonishment, and their chief, who had just joined them, looked puzzled. It was clear they did not notice that Bonny had a special effect on her surroundings at all (apart from creating butterflies in Obelix' stomach.)

"Maybe I'm just imagining all this," Asterix started to think, but Manilla guessed, or senses what he was thinking, because she said. "You are not imagining things." Bonny's power radiates from her, just like Mesmeron's does. And in a way, they both have an effect on your mind. It is just very unusual that someone can actually identify that that effect.

"But it might not be that hard to explain." Getafix said. "Asterix is especially strong-minded. Whether positive or negative, he probably opposes his thoughts being steered in a particular direction. Bonny looked apologetic at Getafix' words. "I'm not even aware I'm doing that, I'm sorry," she said, rather softly. Asterix merely shook his head, half to dismiss her apology, half to clear his head.

"What is this stranger than. Some sort of ill-tempered healer?

"He would wish," Manilla sneered. Her bright blue eyes were suddenly quite cold. "Mesmeron is none of us. His 'Power' is everything we try to rid ourselves of when we are striving to become effective healers. "Manipulation, hypnosis, altering you emotions, those are the things he excels at. And he uses it for no other means than his own benefit. Someone who thinks and acts his way could never become an effective way. He uses his powers in a completely negative way, and someone who does can only attract more negative power.

"Well, in a way, willing someone to heal faster is also a way of manipulation," Asterix said. He could not help but stress the similarities he saw. It created a connection between Mesmeron and the two women, who were clearly a little offended. But Asterix cared little about it. He wanted to understand, to know the possible threat to his village and how to battle it.

"The difference between the two powers is like good and evil. You choose either one way or the other. They don't mix." Asterix wanted to say something again, but he stopped himself when he saw Getafix raise his hand. So Manilla continued.

"Mesmeron's power is to "bend'" minds. Maybe a healer does this too, helping a patient to find strength within him or herself. Helping him to let go of fear and anger, of regret and tension, and to focus on the positive powers in our world. Powers that enhance the healing power of time. However, Mesmeron does not want others to get better; he only alters minds for his own benefits. He strived for power ever since he was young. He uses his own powers to require that of others. Maybe lived around healers when he was younger. Or in a family of powerful druids, they exist. I don't know his exact origins, but I know that Mesmeron developed a special interest for people with unusual powers and that he has been using his powers to force others to give him theirs. For decades. Illusions, physically enhancing potions, clear-sightedness (Asterix could not help but snort at this, and was pointedly ignored by everyone).

Whenever he encountered a power he could not make his, he controlled others who had it and forced them to use it in his benefit. This was why I already contacted Getafix the first time Mesmeron began to become a threat to us. I feared Mesmeron would take interest in the magic potion. A simple way of creating an invincible army. In the end, he almost reached that goal without ever having needed the magic potion.

Asterix looked at Getafix in disbelief. "You never told me any of this." "Or me," Vitalstatistix added. "If I had known, I would have addressed this MesMem-things long ago."

"Exactly," Getafix replied drily. Then he turned to Asterix. "I know you would have rushed to the Forest House to help. It was them, not our village, Mesmeron was interested in. I know you would want to help. But sending you there with the magic potion to help you would be like wave a giant flag in the direction of our village. Moreover, it could not help you. Back then, I believed to tell you any of this would equal sending you straight into your last adventure. I saw no way of arming you against Mesmeron." Getafix smiled a little. "I underestimated you, of course, you seem to have an advantage that I could not foresee. We don't know if it will be enough though. I was not willing then to risk your life simply for the sake of doing something, and neither was Manilla.

"As your chief"…Vitalstatistix started, but Getafix cut him short. "As my chief you are not entitled to hearing what is discussed during the annual druid meetings, which is the place and time that Mesmeron was discussed. This left me perfectly in my right not to confide in you. I'm sorry. Vitalstatistix moped a little under his breath, but he did not press matters.

"Why did Mémé…Mèmè…" "Mesmeron." "Yes him," Obelix said, "Why did he try to attack the Forest House?" "Well, for all the powers he ever controlled, one way or another, healing was never one of them. At first he just wanted to have some healers at hand. But although he could control their actions, he could not force them to heal. Fill a healer with sorrow and fear, and they will lose their abilities. So Mesmeron tried to learn it himself. From me. But just like a body can defend itself from an illness, some healers have the power of defense. I was able to stop him from entering the Forest House quite easily the first time he tried. The second time…

"He almost succeeded," Bonny said, her voice not much more than a whisper. Her eyes were filled with a sorrow that made Asterix wonder just how much of this adventure had already passed before they were thrown into it. Obelix looked quite uncomfortable too, sensing that there was more unpleasant background to come.

"Almost is not complete," Vitalstatistix said briskly. "And this time he will not succeed either. Tell us how to fight this villain, and we will win!"

Manilla sighed, and slumped slightly in her seat. She averted her eyes, and now they no longer accompanied he speech, she sounded less powerful. Older.

"I will tell you. I must. Mesmeron created an army that failed him once. The Magic potion seems the ideal addition to his powers to make sure it won't fail him twice. I had no choice but to involve you village this time, Getafix. Last time I had to defend the Forest House, I was almost ten years younger. And I had one of my best students by my side, more skilled at defensive shields than I ever was, despite her young age. But I made mistakes, I overlooked things, and she will not stand by my side again.

This surprised Asterix. He had assumed that Manilla was talking about Bonny. Who was rubbing her eyes furiously by now. Obelix had one large hand on her back, trying to comfort her. It was clear that this story hit right through the aura of peace Asterix so clearly felt around Bonny. She was in turmoil over this. Obelix found Asterix staring at them, and the two friends exchanged a worried look. It was obvious that something went terribly wrong in the past.

Manilla was watching both of them. "Before I continue, I want your promise Asterix. And yours, Obelix. I know that you are talented warriors. But I want you to promise not to seek Mesmeron out. Nor anyone who might be under his influence. It is a god's gift that you can feel the presence of anyone who tries to influence your mind, Asterix, but it will not be enough to defeat Mesmeron. Until we know for certain how we can avoid him from taking the magic potion, I want you promise that you won't go after him.

"Until we find a way to defeat him," Asterix said. "We cannot just avoid him from taking the potion this time, it's already obvious from your story that he will try again sooner or later." "So we have make sure he cannot use those powers anymore."

Bonny let out a loud sob, making everyone in the room jump a little. She stared at her hand, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry," she said. "It just that…." They all waited, but Bonny did not continue.

"It is just that you repeated, almost literally, what Bonny's best friend, one of my most trusted pupils said to us once. Bonny had to lose her best friend to Mesmeron. I'm partly to blame. I don't want to be responsible for breaking up another friendship. Promise me not to act rashly, and I promise I will do everything in my might to prevent Mesmeron from ever harming your village."

It was not good enough. Not if it meant Mesmeron could always try again. But if it was the best Manilla thought there was to offer, it would be up to them to convince her otherwise. So they promised, and the older woman continued her story.


	6. Chapter 6

The charachters still belong to Albert Uderzo and Réné Goscinny, except for the usual ones.

P.S. This is part of the next part that I wrote, I decided to post it in maybe two pieces. The next one, since it is already written, will follow quite soon.

P.S.S Asterix and Obelix have a listening role in this chapter and the next one, but they will not stay on the sideline for the entire story. Sorry if you miss them a little in these chapters, feel free to say so if they seem to much side-characters to the story, but it will change after the next chapter. They need this background, and in stead of blending it through the story, I decided to put it here...Since I can think of no reason Manilla would not want to tell them all this.

"Mesmeron was looking for someone who could teach him healing arts, which meant that he was essentially looking for me. Untill today, the Forest House is the only place where healers are openly instructed on how they can optimize their abilities. And maybe he thought threatening my students the ideal way of forcing me to cooperate. At first it was easy enough to block him. He used his powers always with anger and greed in his mind. As I told you, healing powers try to focus on the positive, and defensive powers block out negative influence."

Manilla hesitated for a moment.

"Healers who are very skilled in this power can even block physical attacks….Phyllis was one of them. She was so good at it that she would even have be able to stop one of these menhirs, if you hurled it at her…or someone she wanted to protect. I know you would never do that, Obelix," she shushed the indignant "I would never..." Obelix started to utter. "But Mesmeron has either never heard about Gaulish honor, or he simply does not care."

When Mesmeron found he could not penetrate the Forest house, he started looking for more power. With roman armies surrounding al the villages in our region, he did not have to look long.

"Of course, the Romans," Vitalstatistix sneered, "Always willing to lend a hand."

Manilla smiled wearily at him. "They were never asked or even informed of his plans. But an army, compared to a random village is easier to control. They all listen almost blindly to one centurion. They are trained to act and think as one. Much easier to handle than a bunch of strong-headed individuals. This was the only reason Mesmeron was interested in using the Romans, not cooperate with them. I assure you that if the Romans side with Mesmeron, they will not do this willingly. There is nothing for them to gain. In fact, in the past, it were roman officers from neighboring camps that alerted us of Mesmerons plans. They saw their comrades being pulled under his control and they were unable to free them.

This all happened about eight years ago. Bonny and Phyllis were just sixteen at the time, careless teenagers and best friends, almost inseparable. Bonny has always been an exceptionally talented healer. Phyllis was quite talented herself, but a little hot-headed, which could sometimes give her trouble to focus on the right things. Besides, she was a bit of a wanderer, a tendency she must have inherited from her parents. Roaming the forests with her horse, thinking up reasons to organize a party, she was often less than focused on her studies.

"She was always there when you needed her though." Bonny added softly.

"I will be the last to deny that," Manilla said. Then she continued. "But she had a tendency for trouble. In fact that's how I discovered her defensive powers. That horse of didn't like blacksmiths at all, and when one tried to tie the horse up, it kicked the blacksmith, who got quite angry. I suppose he tried to hit the horse, which was not the best way to go about it of course. Phyllis pulled a shield round the horse, preventing her from being hit…..and poked the blacksmith with one of his own burning irons. I Have spent days trying to get her to heal him, but I think in the end it was still Bonny who did that.

Bonny's cheek flushed a little at that, and they turned even more red when she saw all eyes were upon her. Asterix' and Obelix' had them twinkling a little, they obviously could appreciate Phyllis approach to trouble more than Manilla.

"Goliath was heavily mistreated when she was first trained," Bonny told them. Phyllis found her when she and her parents were travelling to the Forest house. She healed her, took her away from their owners and her parents were forced into buying Goliath or have their daughter accused of thievery."

"Of course, they chose the first. Her first battle, at the age of ten. Most healers are especially sensitive about causing injury to others, it goes against their nature. It also weakens their abilities. But I have to admit that when she put her mind to it, Phyllis was quite a good healer, despite her uncharacteristic behavior. Still, I always knew she would have a difficult choice ahead of her. If Mesmeron was not beating down her gates, I might have been able to assist her better, but as it turned out I had no choice but to ask for her help. She was far too young to face what Mesmeron had created, but I knew that with the addition of that army, I would not be able to protect my students without help.

Phyllis did not hesitate for a second. The Forest house was her home back then, and together we succeeded in creating a shield so strong it was actually visible. Even with the armies , Mesmeron was not able to penetrate. It should have been a victory, but instead it was the start of a tragedy. Because I made my first mistake right there. No matter what happened afterwards, I cannot deny being responsible for the start of everything.

Manilla shook her head, at the puzzled looks that were thrown at her. She needed to go back a little for them to understand.

"Phyllis is not Gaulish, at least not entirely. She was born out of a mixed marriage. Her mother, Myra, was one of my first students, from a tribe who lived nearby the forest house. A travelling spirit, destined to leave her home one day. She met Phyllis father when he came to the forest house looking for advice, which was quite an event, since we tried to give it's location away only to those who were coming there for learning. However, Lucius was no threat. He was a doctor, half Greek, half Roman, who worked and lived in Rome. Being the big city it is, Rome was plagued by an epidemic disease, which was quite hard to treat and threatened to lead to mass loss of lives for the city. He managed to find a cure. Still the disease kept spreading, and Lucius knew that the only way to stop it would be to lessen the infectious character. He was called by the Emperor and instructed to find help to stop the disease.

Manilla stopped her story for a while to address Vitalstatistix. "I know I'm digressing here, but I know too that you and your men don't think highly of Romans. It is only natural you do, but Lucius was…ís a very intelligent man, and kind-hearted as well. He considered it an honor to visit us, but he also brought a lot of knowledge to us. I was very proud when he later entrusted his daughter to our care. Despite the tragedy it turned out to be for his family, he never accused me. I truly consider him a great man, and it pains me to know that I'm responsible for his current unhappiness."

Vitalstatistix made a dismissive gesture, and Getafix added "We 'd like to understand to past as well a possible Manilla. You said yourself there was still time, so let's not try to rush into action."

Manilla continued: "We found a way to lessen the infectious effects of the disease, and Myra went with Lucius. They stopped the spread of the illness, and during the first years Phyllis was born they travelled a lot. Lucius was not an army doctor, he did not like the presence of Legions any more than we do. But the oath of Hypocrates meant a lot to him. By nature, camps are especially vulnerable to the spreading of disease, and he and Myra often stayed within their walls, protected themselves by Myra's powers. They saved lives, which created deep gratitude among the soldiers, and life-long friendships. When Phyllis was about six they settled at the borders of Rome. They must have frequent visits from roman soldiers on their leave, visiting with children about Phyllis age. When the family returned to Myra's home village because they wanted to be close to their daughter when she learned to understand her abilities, they travelled with some legions that were going to be stationed near us. Phyllis was a curious child, fun to be around, and of course she made friends, they travelled together for almost a year.

When he went to attack us, it was among those friends that Mesmeron recruited. I should have realized, but I was too preoccupied by how the Forest House was going to withstand the attack. So Phyllis was not prepared to see her own friends attack her home, and she had to defend from them. If only this had been the worst, she might have been offended for not being let in on enough details, but we would have been able to talk things out. However, she sensed, a little like Asterix, the effect of Mesmerons trickery. Or it might just have been she trusted those men enough to know they would never attack her willingly. She went closed to investigate, and some probably recognized her and fought to break Mesmerons hold on them. The worse something is against your nature, the more difficult it becomes to be forced in to it. No magic in the world can change that.

If I had spent more time explaining Mesmerons ways to her, she might have realized that the best she could for them at that point was to leave them alone. Maybe I did not want to scare her. But I guess I already sensed she would have her own ideas about dealing with Mesmeron. And that if she did, she would destroy the healing part of her nature forever."

Bonny stared at her hands intently, not longer interfering in the story at all. Which Asterix found quite disturbing, and also a little regrettable. As Phyllis best friend, she no doubt had her own view of what had happened. But she seemed unable to utter a single word, and the tension in her soft eyes, betrayed how painful the past was to her.

"When Phyllis saw her friends struggle, she set out to help them, to break the hold Mesmeron had over them. Like they were ill, she made them focus on other things than his influence. On its own, that is the best way to break Mesmerons' powers, if only…"

Some of them managed to free themselves from his influence. They went back to their comrades, trying to help them, and thus they became a threat to Mesmeron's army…

Manilla went silent again. From the corner of her eye, she observed Asterix and Obelix, eager for her to continue. They obviously did not sense the turn her story would take. She was reminded of something else she was overlooking, right now. Sure these men were warriors and she did not doubt Getafix assertion that they were brave. But they had always had the magic potion to rely on, they had never known their parents do otherwise either. The title 'invincible' meant they were not confronted with lost battles. Thanks to the potion, they could afford to be gentle to their enemies, to see battle as somewhat of a game. She did not doubt they knew deep down it was way more than that, but it was one thing to know other battles went way different, but quite on other to have lived those battles. She had seen Asterix glancing from Bonny from time to time. In fact she had seen Obelix do the same, but Asterix eyes lacked the love-struck glance of his best friend. He sensed the story was not just some random happy-end adventure, but she could feel he saw it as an adventure in progress, a new task to solve. The happy ending would come soon enough.

But Vitalstatistix hád known other times, and he finished the illusion for his younger warriors.

"Since they were a threat to his victory, he killed the ones who resisted." He finished. His tone was calm and accepting, but the firm grip on the horn in his hand showed a different emotion.


	7. Chapter 7

_property of Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo_

Asterix saw his own shocked look mirrored when he turned to Obelix. He shook his head in frustration, about the events themselves, which could have been prevented, but also about his own naivety. As if it was the first time he heard about battles. As if he had never learned what happened when you lost them. As if he did not realize how incredibly lucky their village was to have the magic potion. His mood quickly turned to a more firm determination; this danger needed to be stopped; there was no way he would let it reach their village.

"What happened next," he asked.

Manilla continued: "I had long enough of a past with Mesmeron to know what would be the fate of these men. Phyllis had no idea. She worried for them, but the shock of seeing her home attacked was greater at first. She plummeted me with questions, prompted others to skill themselves in defense. I let her be for a while, although I was quite sure that Mesmeron would not attack the Forest House again anytime soon. He had failed twice, and he hates failure. I hoped that Phyllis distraction would give me enough time to explain thoroughly why it would be wrong, especially for a healer, to go and seek revenge.

"Why," Obelix said, "why is it wrong?" He imaged someone attacking Asterix, and even the idea made him tremble with anger.

Manilla understood the idea behind his question. "Revenge, can have its use, when it prevents more wrong deeds in the future. But it is a very negative notion, one that cannot leave the abilities of a healer untouched. It were those abilities that protected us from Mesmeron, so to weaken them was one of the most dangerous things to do. Other than that, revenge, just for revenge, will not bring back what is lost.

"Yes, but still," Asterix started to say, but Manilla went on, "It is very difficult to come to that conclusion when you are the one who suffers….which is why I hoped for more time. But Phyllis soon found out, and she was enraged. Sad too of course, but more than anything else enraged.

"She felt guilty," Bonny's soft voice interfered, for the first time since quite a while. "About telling them to fight back and not making sure they were okay. About causing their deaths."

"That's ridiculous," Asterix said, "If anyone…if anything could have prevented it, it would have been informing her of what she was getting involved in." He had corrected himself to soften the accusation, but it was not meant to go unnoticed, and as Manilla caught his gaze, she was surprised at how cold these blue eyes suddenly looked. Until a few minutes ago, they had been nothing but kind, and welcoming, but now the blame was evident in them.

She sighed "Phylllis seemed to accept that I hadn't. But what she could not forgive me was letting her believe they would be okay. Not telling her of the consequences of her actions, thus giving her no chance to set thing right. I wanted to protect her, to keep her from sharing the fate of her friends, but the price was very high. I lost her trust. Permanently. I did not realize at first. After a few weeks or raging, she started her healing lessons again. It took my chance to tell her everything I knew about Mesmeron, holding nothing back this time. I even told her about informing Getafix, and our decision to not let you come to our aid, Asterix. And she agreed it was the right thing to do. But I still don't know if she really thought it was the best decision, or if she simply wanted to make me think she agreed with me.

Because the moments that she yelled at me in rage, were the last moments she shared her true feeling with me. She resumed her training, because she wanted to perfect her defense, of herself and others, not because she forgave me. She never did. Apparently she had spent her weeks away from the Forest House looking into Mesmeron, who he was, how he acted. She talked to people who had been attacked by him, learned about his power to control minds, and the many other arms he had gathered over time. I think, however, this is as far as my part of the story goes. I was led to believe she had managed to control her anger, which in fact was not that wrong. It just did not mean she had given up on it. She postponed it, saved it for one ultimate goal.

"To defeat Mesmeron."

"You are quite mild, Asterix. I don't think defeating him was her goal. I think she wanted him destroyed, not only his powers, but him as a person."

"Destroy, defeat, get rid of him. It all comes down to the same thing, doesn't it?" It was Vitalstatistix who said this, his tone a little irritated at the unnecessary word play.

"Not at all," Manilla said sternly. "A healer who intentionally destroys life is no longer a healer. Which is why I never wanted to fight Mesmeron myself. He has every thinkable power to destruct things. He is almost unbeatable in it. But he cannot destroy me. Healing comes down on enforcing exactly the opposite things than the ones you enforce for an attack. In other words, you fight or defend. Doing both at the same time is simply impossible. This is why Mesmeron has never mastered healing, and why he never will.

There were a few moments of silence as the occupants of the room contemplated this. Asterix tried to make the comparison with a battle situation. Was it impossible to fight and defend at the same time? Maybe, if you looked at it from a purely action-based way. When you reach out to strike someone, you lower your defense. But from a wider point of view, where their battles often not meant to defend the village? They sometimes attacked first; did this not protect the village at the same time? It does, Asterix thought stubbornly, if it was not in our best interest, than we could not have lasted for so long. Maybe Manilla thought it was wrong to fight the Romans, but he did not share that opinion. He had met enough Romans to know that most of them weren't that bad, that there were more and less worthy people amongst them. But the idea of putting more and more parts on the world under your control, when the inhabitants were perfectly okay and happy the way they were, that was what it was all about. Roman civilization could well be beneficial for some parts of the world; it had no business forcing itself on people without their consent. It was nice to be able to fight it without having to take lives, but it they did not have that luxury, would he act differently? No. He would be more prudent, but he would not avoid the fight, no matter the outcome. It was a strange thing to think about, but his growing sympathy for a girl he had never even met, strengthened his belief that he would try to act the same way.

"Phyllis never wanted to just stop Mesmeron. She wanted him gone," Bonny suddenly said. "And although I value my healing powers, and I could not imagine not having them anymore, I never tried to stop her. I saw the lives he could still destroy, the people he could hurt….and I made my decision to try to help her without thinking twice."

"So how did you try to des… to get Mesmeron gone?"

"It was quite simple actually. Phyllis just decided that since Mesmeron would never be able to learn healing and defense, he could be defeated by someone who had more power than him. Or maybe that someone with less power could manage the same, if they could also rely on their healing and defense.

"Which was a mistake, since her healing powers were bound to become weaker if she focused on negative energy," Manilla said.

"And yet, although Phyllis started to learn about the dark powers with revenge in her mind, it did not really affect her healing powers. Maybe a little, but I always thought it was more to her difficulty to control her emotions than to her new powers. It was not new; Mesmeron was not the first who ever angered her, or who caused her pain. She always had some difficulty to focus on the right emotions. If she managed, she was extremely powerful, but she often got distracted by other feelings. This is why we healed together so much. We continued to do so during our trainings at the Forest House after she started searching out 'dark' powers, and I never had the impression she grew much weaker at healing. It is why I believed her plan might work. I would have covered for her even if I didn't believe it would, but it certainly made it easier for me to explain her time away as time with her parents, even if Phyllis made sure they were nowhere around before she started searching out all the powers Mesmeron abuses."

"They kept it up," Manilla said "I never knew. For almost five years, Phyllis studied every power Mesmeron had, and found ways to learn them"

"Patient girl," Getafix remarked.

"Mesmeron never tried to stop her?" Asterix asked? "And how did she get people to teach her?"

"Well, the art of manipulation appears to be at her side. I do not consider myself as unintelligent or unobservant. It may seem naïve that I never suspected anything but Phyllis did not have to learn how to deceive people; she was a natural from the start. She got people to do her bidding; I think largely the same way Mesmeron did. No doubt with an extra touch of subtlety and female elegance. Men appear to be sensitive to that," she said with a wary smile.

"As for your first question," Bonny said, "She was very careful to stay out of Mesmerons' way as much as possible, and if she met people who could possibly be in contact with him, she paid extra attention to hiding her true intentions. He never expected her to be a threat until she first confronted him. It was a very carefully planned first confrontation. Phyllis usually told me about her plans, although she never actually asked for my approval or my help. This confrontation was a secret, maybe because she considered it a test, and wouldn't put me in danger. Mesmeron was planning another attack on the Forest house, this time with a much larger force, and he had been preparing for years. For one thing, he has a much bigger army as backup. But armies need to eat, even if they have no control over their minds, so he…"

"Wait a minute, if it was a secret confrontation, then how do you know so much about it?" Asterix did not like to interrupt again, but he had the distinct feeling that he was listening to a story from which parts had been cut. Maybe because the main actor of it was missing to comment. Bonny was somewhat dumb-struck. "Well she told me afterwards," she said simply. "And as I said, it was a test for Phyllis; she wanted to see if she could resist Mesmerons' attacks. He was going to convince a nearby pub owner to foresee part of the army of supplies, of course using his powers. It was easy, because apart from obedient, people under his control also keep secrets. It was a really easy thing for Mesmeron, something he did no doubt countless times a day. So he was not really focusing or completely on his guard. Phyllis called it a perfect occasion. Phyllis broke his power over the owners of the pub quite easily. By the time Mesmeron realized what was happening, she already had herself and the pub under her defense. Of course Mesmeron was furious, but despite attacking her full force, he could not break the defensive shield. If it is really strong, it's kind of like a bubble, you can actually see it. It looks fragile, but it is incredibly strong.

However, there was a downside. Phyllis could not use her new powers without dropping her defense. By now, she new enough to know that if she lowered her defense, Mesmeron would not attack her but the people she was protecting, and how this would affect her control over her emotions. So she didn't. She chose not to attack, and in the end Mesmeron was forced to give up his attack.

Bonny shook her head. "To me it was prove that violence would not be the answer, that Manilla was right. It felt good to me, I never liked the idea of actively fighting someone. But Phyllis did not share my opinion." She stood up from her place at the table and walked towards the window, no longer facing them.

"Initially I thought Phyllis plan made sense. I have learnt to let go of anger, but I díd share her pain, the pain of losing the ones you love. But even if I hadn't, Phyllis and I became friends from the moment she first visited the forest house. And from the moment she came to live there, we did almost everything together, studying, playing, talking boys. Yet she never needed me as much as I did her. She had her own family; I grew up in the Forest House without known relatives. To her it was a home, for me it is my only home. My healing powers are my greatest treasure, they define who I am. That's a big difference between us, because though Phyllis liked her powers, she saw them more like a practical tool. Her family defined her, and her greatest treasure was Goliath, her horse. She was completely fond of that mare, she took always took her along when going on searches, not me. Never me.

"Would you have wanted that?" Manilla asked

"I just did not want her to have to do it all by herself. But she did not want me to come along."

"You know why. Healing and dark powers cannot coexist, and you are the most powerful healer of the Forest House, the most powerful healer I ever came across. Phyllis might not have cared about her own powers, but she will not have wanted to risk yours."

"But did Bonny not just say Phyllis learned to use both of them," Asterix countered the definite character power of Manilla's words. It was a useful idea, and he was not willing to the chance to protect their village slip out of moral principles.

"It is not the power itself that destroys it is opposite," Manilla said calmly. "It is the effect the use of these powers has of the one who applies them that renders him unable to use the opposite of that power. Using dark powers does not only affect others' but also your own mind. Just like healing powers do. So a violent healer is a contradices in termis, forgive my Latin. It just can't exist."

"That is why she trained me to become stronger in producing defensive shields," Bonny added. "She could not use both powers at the same time." Absentmindedly she caressed some flowers on Asterix' windowsill.

"We were going to face him together. That was the plan. I wanted to tell you Manilla, I really did. But she blocked me out every time I tried to start about it. She never actually said it, but I knew that informing you would mean she would fight alone. And that she would lose. So I told no one. Phyllis did, she sought out the assistance of roman friends, also eager for revenge. Not to face Mesmeron directly, that was something she planned to do herself. But to help me in my defense."

She looked round at the others, as if she was hoping for them to interrupt, or for Manilla to take over. But no one said a word, even Dogmatix was perfectly silent. So she gathered her breath, and in a voice far too neutral to sound natural she continued: "Mesmerons' ''' next move was to attack a village where two young healers lived; a twin, eight years old, too young to be part of the Forest House already. Phyllis found out, and she expected Mesmeron to be prepared for her this time. The village was quite near the Forest House, I assume it was one of his final preparations for attacking it. Phyllis asked me to stay behind, to stay at home until she gave sign. Not that she was so concerned about me, but she díd see me as an important part of her plan." Bonny's words were bitter enough, but somehow it didn't show in her soft tone of voice.

"She wanted to break Mesmerons' mental hold over the village first, so they would not attack me or the soldiers trying to protect them. I was then supposed to put the village and everyone else under my defense, so she was free to…go after him."

"I still believed it could work. But Phyllis overlooked one thing. She had kept her whereabouts a tight secret, so as far as Mesmeron knew, she acted on the orders of the Forest House. He had no idea that she worked in secret, and that no one knew about her plans. He expected to see all of us. Phyllis counted on him to save his army, after all she had done him no harm. She expected him to bring troops, as many maybe as for his first attack on the Forest house, but not an amount ten times as much. It was terrifying. Back then, we still shared some sort of mental connection, and I could feel her struggle to keep up her defense. At the same time I felt her joy of having broken his mind control over the village. She was blind to my terror, my conviction I would never be able to keep up the protection, and the deaths that would follow. I would die for her, but to risk other people's lives was something that froze me up with fear.

She asked me to step in, almost joyful. I asked her to cancel, I asked her not to attack Mesmeron, told her I was not ready. She tried to convince me, to convince me I would be okay, but I felt her panic rising. She begged me to come. She was not willing risk lives either, but this time Mesmeron had enormous force with him, and they could keep attacking for days. In the end she would lose. I made my decision to tell Manilla in a split of a second, but I should have kept it from her, she could see it in my mind at once. I was never a good manipulator. Only moments later the connection between us was gone. What happened next I can only guess, but I suppose she decided to attack rather than to defend until she had no powers left.

"Bonny went to me, and I on my turn begged her not to go. If Mesmeron won, the Forest House would be his next stop, and without Phyllis and Bonny I was not able to withstand his attack."

"In the end, I went anyway. Some of my and Phyllis friends came along. But we lost so much time. Far too much. It was a disaster. Villagers, members of Mesmerons' army regaining their senses, we did not know who to go to first."

Bonny's voice faded to a whisper: "We managed to cure them all, but Phyllis…" She did not go on.

Vitalstatistix grimly concluded, "So in the end Mesmeron won?"

Manilla stepped in for Bonny: "At first it was not a clear victory. He was weakened, his army was no longer under his control, and his plans were idled. But he lived. It took him three years to come to the point that he is taking up his old plans, but he arrived there. And Phyllis gave him a unique motivation. He saw an example of someone who could both heal and destroy. And she was alone. She broke off every contact with us. I don't know exactly how Mesmeron gets to control her, but the fact she has never tried to attack him again..."

"Wait, wait, WAIT" Obelix had been trying to stop Manilla with increasing persistency, and his last word made Impedimenta drop the spoon she had been turning between her fingers for the past half hour. Manila looked as confused by the interruption as Obelix sounded. Asterix, no less surprised, tried to clarify: "You mean Phyllis is ALIVE? Why….How can that be? He killed the others who…"

"Why?" Manilla repeated. "By accident at first, I think, she destroyed his whole attack, no matter how interesting she was, he must have wanted her destroyed, and without her defense, he managed to deal her a blow that should have been her death. But it wasn't. How she survived? That horse probably took part of the blow. She stayed in Phyllis wake as her shadow.

"But then we should go and see her," Asterix said. She was the closest you ever got to defeat this guy. So…"

"You don't understand," Manilla interrupted, sounding sharp. "It took us weeks to get her conscious again. The first time she woke up enough to ask for Goliath, and we had to tell her she was not there…" "Yeah, of course, keep everything she needs to know from her, but please do not waste any time in telling her her pet is gone," Asterix said sarcastically. He and Manilla stared at each other sharply, and the others watched both of them in fascination. It was not likely for Asterix to sound like that. He was a bit short-tempered sometimes, but he did not hold grudges. "She turned him against her with her own story," Getafix observed. And he believed he knew why.

Manilla was the first to break the eye contact, but she walked up to Bonny, and reached for her arm. Carefully, she pulled back the sleeve, revealing a heavily scared underarm that had obviously been badly burnt. "I told you dark and healing powers could not coexist. The moment Phyllis learnt about her horse, she lost control over every power she had. She attacked everything and everything in her reach, including her best friend. The Forest House still bears marks of that day. Phyllis did more damage to it than all Mesmerons' attacks combined.

Bonny pulled back her arm. "She was scared…" "And angry, and out of control, and dangerous. No one managed to calm her down, or to talk some reason into her, and we have not seen her since.

They were all silent again. "We did hear she was still following Mesmeron," Bonny said cautiously. "She might be near." Asterix eyes flickered with the opportunity. "She has never attacked or thwarted Mesmeron ever since," Manilla stated. "I can understand that you see her as an opportunity, but in her current mental state she is more likely to turn against you than to help me, and you can barely overestimate the danger in that. And there is one other thing. Phyllis ability to heal is gone.

"When did that happen?" Getafix asked.

"I don't know, but from what we heard about her, she did not heal others or herself every since the fight. Is she ever had an advance over Mesmeron, it is gone now.

_Largest chapter! some remarks: there is not that much interaction, Asterix-Obelix in this one, but I plan to make up for that starting from the next chapter. Eight years of history is a long time to span, and it just seems natural that Manilla was going to share that history with them. From now on, There should be less talking in the past and more action. To me this background is a known story, but please let me know if some things made no sense, and of other comments are always welcome, I could take them into account for what is to come._


	8. Chapter 8

_Characters are all property of Albert Uderzo and Réné Goscinny, except for the ones who aren't __._

_My number one reviewer is on a short holiday, so please feel free to press review and give me something to think about __._

"We didn't fight the Romans when we were sixteen, did we Asterix?" Obelix broke through the silence they had been sitting in for the past ten minutes. On a bench, in front of Obelix' quarry. The sun was already high up in the sky by the time Manilla had ended her story. It was nearly noon. Manilla and Getafix had retreated to Getafix' hut. They had gone into a detailed discussion of how to perk up Manilla and Bonny's defensive power. In principle, this interested Asterix, but he had a feeling Manilla would speak more freely without him around. They were seeing is as the good preparation to withstand a future attack and Manilla had assured them there was time, Mesmeron was a careful planner and would not rush into action. But Manilla's story had delivered a clear message to Asterix. She was very selective in what she shared with others, and she had her own ideas on how to handle the evil wizard, for lack of a better term. The only problem was that those ideas had not succeeded in removing the threat Mesmeron posed, and that this threat was now quite probably aimed at the village Asterix was supposed to protect. At his friends. He desperately wanted to gather more information about Mesmeron, to understand what he and Obelix were up against, and to find a way to end this story with a long overdue ending. Getafix had wanted to protect him, which he really appreciated, but it díd mean he was now up for a home-field match, and this he did not like one bit. "Vitalstatistix must share this opinion," Asterix thought, a little confused, "But still he ordered for us to stay in the village."

Vitalstatistix had gone to inform the rest of the villagers, and to order them to stay in the village as well. Normally Asterix would have gone to listen too, even if he already knew the story. However, Obelix had started off in the direction of his quarry without even reacting to what Vitalstatistix, so lost in thought that he had probably not heard a thing. So Asterix, half lost in thoughts himself had followed. Consequently they were now completely out of character, in the middle of an adventure doing absolutely nothing. Not even discussing or arguing, both too preoccupied by their thoughts to do so. Asterix was searching for a way to protect the village he cared for from a threat he barely even began to understand. Obelix remark showed his thoughts were elsewhere. Since his own thoughts were not leading him anywhere useful anyway, Asterix focused on what Obelix just asked him. It had sounded like a question, but he knew Obelix did not have such a bad memory. It was probably just an excuse to get Asterix to say something. And it worked.

"Of course we didn't."

Silence.

He was clearly supposed to say more then.

"We got to drink from the magic potion for the first time when we were sixteen." Obelix rolled his eyes at that remark. Yes of course. Obelix had had his first and (until recently) last gulp of potion ten years earlier. "I do not think we had our first fight before we were nineteen, actually," Asterix added, trying to lead the conversation in less sensitive waters. "With the Romans at least, because we had our own quarrels since as long as I can remember."

"You were younger. Getafix let you have a taste before."

That was true. Having a best friend like Obelix, the amazing effects of the magic potions were part of Asterix daily life. A best friend, who, as he already had assumed, had no failing memory at all. Quite the contrary actually.

"You're right. I think it was about a year before that, when I brought him one of the ingredients he had run out of." Asterix had always been curious about the magic potion, how it felt, how it was made. Not because he had plans with it. It was just an amazing beverage, and there seemed to be absolutely no reasonable explanation for it.

"Obelix, Why are you asking me, if you remember better than me?" "So that was your first mission then." Obelix said, not quite answering, but referring to Asterix last remark about the potion.

"Well, yeah. Our first mission," Asterix corrected. "You helped me get it. Remember those little white flowers growing way up in the willow we made that forest hut in?" Obelix eyes lit up as he did remember. Then he said. "I knew you were not that romantic." Asterix was completely thrown of track, he had no idea where thàt came from. "What?" "Well you did not use them for the bouquet then." Asterix continued to stare at Obelix, completely at a loss. "For the spring dance, Asterix, the reason we had to look for flowers in the first place." Obelix shook his head at so much forgetfulness. Then he frowned. "Why did you not tell me that we were on a mission then?"

"It was not meant to be one." He had spotted those flowers completely by coincidence, bored to death by their mothers request/order to make some nice bouquets for the evening. To offer at some of the girls from nearby villages. They were pestered like that before even having reached adulthood. Compared to Phyllis, his late childhood was one completely free of worry and serious problems. This was a good example.

Anyway. Getafix had been very grateful when he brought him those flowers. Asterix had explained it was a complete coincidence, but apparently Getafix considered remembering they were an ingredient, and remembering to carry them upside down (so the juice would not leak from the stems) as an act worthy of a reward on its own. Quite a valuable reward. Asterix had asked if Obelix could have a sip too, but Getafix told him it was too dangerous for Obelix to have any more potion. Because he did not really want to bring that news to his best friend, he had kept more or less silent about his first experience with the magic potion, tuning it down to an every-day event when it was in fact one of his most vivid memories.

"It was more of a coincidence then a mission. Not comparable at all to having to defend your home from a wizardy lunatic. You know our parents would never have let us anyway, not even my dad."

Astronomix had spent a lot of time teaching him how to handle a sword. He did not want to have his son, destined to become a warrior, to rely on one single weapon, even one as powerful as the magic potion. As a result Asterix could handle a sword better than most of the villagers his age. He also knew some less forward fighting tricks, meant to permanently disable someone. Knowledge he very rarely used. He doubt it would be of much help in this adventure. Mesmeron needed to be fought at his own level. Or if it depended on Manilla, not at all. Irritation rose again in his chest.

"I doubt Manilla ever asked Phyllis parents anything though," he mumbled.

"You do not like her," Obelix stated simply.

"It's just, she is stíll keeping thing for herself, she tries to steer us into a direction she thinks is right. Imagine Getafix or even Vitalstatistix holding back on information when they sent us on a new mission. Some of them would surely have gone wrong as well. If we don't get her to give us the whole picture, we might end up doing more damage than good to our friends if we try to protect them." Obelix quite distressed. Which meant he understood, and this made it impossible for Asterix not to go further on his stream of thoughts. "So we do nothing. In the mean time, we give this Mesmeron all the time of the world to get ready, to get to know us, to gather forces. THAT's what I don't like," he finished angrily, kicking away some pebbles in front of him. Bravura immediately went after them at top speed. When she caught them in mid-air, she started to run back to Asterix, to make him throw them again. But as she did, Asterix clearly noticed she was limping. Great. His mood sinking even further, he got up to catch the little vixen and investigate her paws.

"So what do you suggest?" Vitalstatistix walked up to them, and had apparently overheard his outburst.

"Well, we should find a way to handle Mesmeron, not just wait until he faces us."

"I agree. I have told the other villagers to stay in the village, but we can't keep that up forever. The only reason I asked you to stay was that I don't think Manilla or Getafix will appreciate if I send you to investigate."

Asterix hesitated. He had also gotten that message, and he rarely did something that Getafix did not approve of. Normally he would talk to him and try to convince him though…which was difficult at the moment, with Manilla in his wake. "Getafix will be okay with it," he said firmly.

"Fine!" Vitalstatistix looked quite pleased, but he sobered immediately: "But do not confront that Mesmeron directly. It really is too dangerous, and we are not ready to fight until we know more."

"I wasn't planning to confront him. But Bonny mentioned Phyllis could be around Mesmeron. Maybe it is possible to talk to her. She has fought him before. Well, and if she isn't we at least need to know his exact plans, and if we still have time to look for other people who can fight that dark energy he uses."

"Well if there are others, they obviously did not find a way to stop him yet. But we have no other options. When would you be…"

"Right now," Asterix said briskly, not willing to waste any more time.

"Great," Obelix said. "And if we don't find anything, we can at least stock some boars for lunch." He was already on his way when he noticed Asterix was not following, instead exchanging looks with Vitalstatistix. "What?" he asked impatiently. "Oh come on, I know this is not a very appetizing adventure yet, but not eating will not improve that."

"It's not about the boars, Obelix," Asterix said, though he did roll his eyes at the word "boars". He hesitated. It's just that Bonny and Manilla would better not notice that we are ignoring their advice, or they will tell us even less." Another pause. "Manilla is still with Getafix, you could ask Bonny for lunch, she'll think I'm with Vitalstatistix and they don't have to know."

"Ask Bonny for lunch" Obelix squeaked, obviously petrified by the idea. "What am I going to talk about?"

"Well, talk about Idefix. Talk about the puppies. Girls like puppies. And Bravura seems to be limping, maybe you could ask Bonny to have a look?"

"You called your dog Bravùra?" Despite the situation, Vitalstatistix almost choked on this. Asterix threw him an indignant look, but he had no time to reply that is was Obelix who came up with the name, because the name-giver in question was still in distress about the upcoming lunch.

"I'm not sure if I …if I can…" "… Talk?" Asterix finished quickly. "Of course you can, you were doing it just a few moments ago, weren't you. And besides, Bonny already seems to like you." In fact, he doubted that Bonny was able to dislike someone, but there was no need to add that. Obelix seemed to gain courage from the comment. "I'll go and ask her," he cheered, and off he was.

"Well, I'm on my way too then." Asterix unfastened his gourd of potion, took a few gulps and handed the gourd to Vitalstatistix. "You're not taking that?" he asked Asterix, astonished. "I doubt it will help me much anyway, so I'd rather not risk losing it. If Mesmeron is after the magic potion, the last we should do is help him get it." Vitalstatistix looked very doubtful, so Asterix added: "I'll stay out of sight."

"You do that. And don't be gone too long. If you are not back before dinner, I'll send out…"

"I'll be back," Asterix interrupted. "I just hope to find Phyllis."

"Manilla seemed to think that she was quite a danger herself."

"I don't believe that," Asterix said firmly. "We are looking for a way to get rid of her worst enemy, why would she not be willing to help? And If Mesmeron really controls her, then we'll just have to find a way to remedy that. I don't believe she will help him out of her own will."

"Good luck then," Vitalstatistix said. As Asterix left, he headed home, spotting on his way a very red in the face Obelix that guided Bonny towards lunch. At least that part of the plan seemed to work out as Asterix predicted.


	9. Chapter 9

Phyllis chapter 9

Asterix had been observing all three Roman camps for quite a while, but he did not spot Mesmeron or Phyllis. Of course, he had no idea what she looked like, but a girl or a young woman in a Roman camp would stick out anyway. Since he had promised not to get noticed, he could only observe the camps from a distance. There was no telling if they really weren't residing in one of the camps, but it seemed to be business as usual in all three of them. The Romans did exactly what they normally did near their village: they kept quiet.

He also searched through the forest, which was a bit trickier. He did his best to move as quietly as possible, scanning it quickly aided by the magic potion in his body. But he saw absolutely nothing strange. He was now quite a bit past Babaorum, which was further than they usually went to hunt. Mainly because Obelix liked to keep his Romans close and did not want to miss an opportunity to meet them. The effects of the magic potion were starting to wear off, and the forest slowly became darker. Since it was too early for the sun to go under, Asterix concluded a storm was brewing. Which meant it was better to go back. He did not mind some rain and thunder, if anything it would be easier to move unnoticed, but the other villagers always got nervous during storms, and Obelix would worry for him. It was better to turn back. The only reason he hadn't turned home as soon as he felt the effects of the potion wear off, was that he hated going home empty-handed. But he would just have to deal with that and try again tomorrow. He had only just turned in the direction of the village when a bored voice cur through the sounds of the forest:

"Looking for something?"

Asterix looked around wildly, he saw no one around. Then he felt a pebble hit his helmet, and as he looked up in the direction it came from, he spotted a small figure sitting on one of the branches of a large oak tree. It was a girl, and she was leaning back against the trunk of the tree, looking quite confident, despite being quite high up in the tree, on a branch that Asterix himself never would have trusted to support his weight. In fact, he doubted he would have been able to get to the branch in the first place without the magic potion, there were no lower branches to climb up. So he guessed he had finally found Phyllis.

"You, I think," Asterix called back, trying to ignore the strangeness of the situation.

"Well then you should have said something sooner, I've been following you for over an hour."

This made him feel quite uncomfortable, and this time it was not because he sensed someone trying to meddle with his mind. It was because simply because he had not once had the impression of being followed, despite checking carefully if he wasn't. And he had moved way too quickly for a normal person to keep up. As he walked up to the tree, he introduced himself. "I'm Asterix. Are you…" Before he could finish, he felt a powerful rush of wind, nothing at all like the gushes of wind the nearing storm sent through the forest. It threw him back effortlessly, and sent him right into the trunk of a tree behind him. His helmet kept him from hitting his head too hard against it, and still there was no sign of the threatening atmosphere he had felt around Mesmeron. But the gesture was aggressive on its own, and as he tried to step forward again, he felt he couldn't move.

Suddenly the girl was right in front of him, and he immediately saw that despite her not being taller than him, she was clearly a young woman, not a girl. He had not even seen her get down from the tree. The one eye not shielded by her hair was a pale green, clouded with specks of grey and it was fixed on a point above his head. She seemed to be studying the wings on his helmet.

He looked at her more closely. She looked quite thin and fragile; from a distance you got mistake her for a fourteen year old. From where he was standing, he saw a grown but young woman who seemed to have been lacking the proper feedings he was used to himself. She wore a simple black top and skirt, framed by a long-sleeved vest pulled tight around her waist with a cord. The tight skirt reached halfway her calves and it was ripped at the sides, which must have been necessary if she was climbing trees with it. His eyes moved up to her pale face, and the wavy black hair that went a little past her shoulders, hanging freely and a bit messed up by the wind that had clearly picked up now. Soon the rain would be pouring all over them. He caught her staring eye again, and noticed a flicker of blue underneath it. Suddenly it was fixed right upon his face, and the fragile impression was gone in an instant.

"Well, Mister Asterix, is there an actual reason that you are looking for me, or are you just going to keep staring at me?" she sounded quite irritated, but she was not alone it that.

"Seems there is little else I can do at the moment," he retorted.

"You can still talk, at the moment," she mimicked.

All the things he had wanted to say or ask where erased from his mind by her ability to immobilize him and the unfriendly attitude she showed. He could have expected it, but somehow it was not how he had imagined she would be like.

"I thought you would be taller," he said, quite off-handedly not able to gather his thoughts more quickly. His remark seemed to catch her off-guard, for her eye widened a little, and he saw a flicker of surprise in it. The same moment, he felt the immobility of his body lift a little. He could move his hands, and if he concentrated, probably the rest of his body, but he did not try it out.

"Taller?" Suddenly the malice returned. "Taller than whom? Her perhaps?" As she spoke, she was gone, and Bonny stood right in front of him, her soft brown eyes immediately placing their calming effect on him, the sweet scent of herbs encircling her. Involuntarily he stepped forward, and Phyllis's voice sounded as if coming from a large distance when she spoke: "Yes, quite the looker, isn't she? But since we were talking of tall people, I bet he's even taller." Bonny was gone in an instant and he found himself staring in the cold and immobilizing eyes of the man he now knew as Mesmeron. The dreadful feeling of yesterday was back in an instant, and without even realizing it he stepped back, almost tripping over the roots of the tree as he did. As he steadied himself against the trunk, he noticed something strange (well stranger).

The man's cloak was not entirely solid anymore. He could see a much smaller silhouette behind it. And as soon as he noticed it, Phyllis gradually became clearer. Bonny and Mesmeron were nothing but illusions. Terrifyingly real ones. Just a while ago it would not have surprised him if he could actually….he reached for the cloak around the glooming mans shoulders, but instead of heavy wool his hand touched nothing but air. "I thought I might be able to touch it." He looked at the black-haired woman who had now stepped in front of her self-created illusion and she shook her head, looking quite serious now.

"Not now you know." If you hadn't realized it wasn't real, If I hadn't let you realize (her smirk returned at once, but it did not reach her eyes) he would have felt as real as the ground beneath your feet. The same goes for the blow I could have make him deal you. You would not see or feel the difference." She was probably trying to make a point, but a thought occurred to Asterix again: "Yesterday I also saw Mesmeron…"

"Happy to hear that you're on first-name grounds with him already," she snapped sarcastically. Then the bored expression returned to her face in a second, "Quite real, I am afraid." She did not look frightened at all, but she did get an annoyed expression as he added: "Just like the guests your village so accidentally welcomed yesterday."

"There is definitely something wrong with her," Asterix thought by himself, as he tried to keep up with the myriad of emotions that passed over her face. "Even a drama queen like Cleopatra does not change moods as often as this girl." It was starting to annoy him a little.

"Of course that was not a coincidence," he replied "They came to warn us about Mesmeron."

She snorted "Nice of them."

"They seem nice enough. Especially your friend," he added, knowing fully well she was no longer on friendly basis with Bonny. But she was not the only one who could make sharp remarks.

She fumed, but sounded dead quiet when she spoke again: "Nice enough to make sure he will attack your village and not their home."

He was sure it was supposed to irk him more, and in a way it did sting, because it reminded him that if he had known of Mesmeron sooner, he could have tried to fight the villain from a safe distance of his home and friends. But he did not fully understand the implication behind it.

"Of course they are not simply here to warn and protect us." He ignored how she raised an eyebrow at that and continued, " They want to make sure that Mesmeron does not get hold of the magic potion. Manilla said…" Phyllis seemed to have little interest in what Manilla said, since she interrupted him right there: "What makes you so sure that he is after the magic potion?" Before he could answer, her voice got a warning note as she added: "If you say 'Manilla said' one more time, this conversation is totally over."

Now he was doubly irritated. For one thing, he had just without any reservation told her about the magic potion. She was bound to have noticed his unusual speed as he crossed the village, but she could also have been lying about having followed him around. And even if she didn't he shouldn't have spelled it out for her. He had made a mistake there.

And secondly, who was she to be telling him what he could or could not say? Just as he was about to tell her that, he realized he hàd a different reason than Manilla's story. "Mesmeron told me. Well not literally, but he said he found the effects amazing, and he was trying to find out more about them."

"Yeah, you made a smooth cover back there." She was mocking him again, causing him to brim with irritation and rising anger.

"Since you have apparently been following me around everywhere, why put up all this show," he bit at her, "You know what I want to talk to you for."

"Do not flatter yourself, you're not that interesting."

"And the second reason is indeed, because your teacher told us so." He was now really starting to lose his patience with her. But he was making her fume again, and it was just not in the best interest of his village to do so, so he tried to calm down.

"Look," he tried to calm thing down, "I understand you have plenty of reasons to dislike her and I'm not saying you shouldn't but as far as her trying to protect us goes…I trust her." He hesitated, because he might have drawn another conclusion about Manilla if Getafix hadn't been so taken with the woman. At the very least he doubted her approach to Mesmeron. And Phyllis picked up the uncertainty in his words as Obelix picked up the trace of a hidden roman…far too quick for the liking of the person who was hiding.

"Oh really," she said, and her voice was full of fake sweetness as she stepped closer to him, bringing her face closer as she continued, almost in a whisper "I see. You trust her sooo much, you immediately ignore her advice and turn straight to someone she called a danger to your safety." As she saw the furious look in his eyes, she backed away. "Oh, get real," she said, now simply frustrated, "I have not been eavesdropping inside your village, I'd rather eat mud than to come close to it with all the vermin you have residing there at the moment. But as you so happily pointed out, Manilla wàs my teacher, and I have a pretty good idea of what she told you. And didn't tell you."

She struck gold with that remark, but she didn't seem to notice it, because her eyes were turned away from him as she continued, "she has the habit of telling fairytales, while reality is an entirely different story. Seems you got to realize that in time. I had to find out the hard way." Her entire composure seemed to fall as she retreated to her own memories, and she only vaguely resembled the sharp-tongued vixen that had been infuriating him just moments ago. It seemed as if she was ready to just walk away from him. Drops were starting to fall, and the most air made her hair frizzle.

Asterix thought fast. This arguing back at her was not going to solve anything. He would just have to accept that she was not prepared to see anything good in Manilla or Bonny for the moment. And before she had started to get on his nerves so badly, he had found that easy to understand. He had even thought she was right. Her hostile words were making him forget that during Manilla's story, he had been on her side. And if he had seen nothing wrong in Manilla's approach, why had he been searching Phyllis in the first place? Her anger was not really directed towards him. He would just have to let it go if he ever wanted to get past her attitude. He decided to address the brave, maybe a bit vengeful girl of the story , instead of the moody teenager she reminded him of right now.

"Phyllis," he said quietly. "You're right, I do not completely trust Manilla. I do think she wants to protect everyone from Mesmeron as well as she can, but I'm not convinced she is handling it the right way. As far as I know, you are the only one who ever managed to stop him for quite a while."

"I delayed him," she corrected quietly, not turning back at him. "It is not the same." The rain was pouring down now, and her hair and clothes were beginning to stick to her body, making her look even smaller.

"Your plan could have stopped him." Asterix was getting to his real intention of talking to her now.

"It failed." She was now plucking at the sleeve of her vest.

"Not because it was a bad plan. It just…went wrong." Suddenly she turned round and she looked positively livid. Drops of water fell from her hair and dripped on his face as she somehow towered over him, which was not logical at all, but he was past caring for it.

"Just went wrong?" She snarled. Asterix realized it was a little insensitive to put it that way. "Terribly wrong," he corrected. "But still that doesn't mean it could not work, with some help you could still…" This time she did not interrupt him, but her look and darkening eyes made him stop anyway. "Help?" she whispered, "Help from who? Them? You?" Before he could answer she backed up, and she started to circle him, seemingly contemplating something.

"What has he done to you?" The venom was gone again from her voice, and it almost sounded like a regular question. The sudden change in mood had been distracting him, and her question caught him off guard. "Who? Mesmeron?" She rolled her eyes.

"Well nothing yet," he said "and…" "And you'd like to keep it that way? Then listen up. Your village does not interest Mesmeron. Maybe the potion does, but only to strengthen his troops, he has no need for it himself. He's not interested in the secret behind it, not when he can equal its power that easily. He would only need it to make his attack on the Forest House more powerful. So if you just give him what he wants, and make sure those other two have left by the time you do, I doubt he will waste forces and time on your village."

Asterix did not believe what she was saying. It sounded completely wrong. "But he will attack the Forest House!" She shrugged. "Your home, and friends!" She wanted to say something to that, but this time he did not let her "I don't care what you're going to say, you went so far to protect all that in the past, I do not believe you are fine with him attacking it now!" He had been yelling in spite of himself, thoughts of patience forgotten as he stepped towards her. She did not react immediately, seemingly a little taken aback by his change in attitude. But of course she did retort after a while.

"Revenge. That was my reason. I thought I had already lost so much to him, that he had to pay, and that he could not make things worse. But that was a very big mistake. And I won't make it twice. You want to play the hero in this story? Be my guest, just as long as you keep me out of it. You seem to have some kind of sense for Mesmerons' power. Good for you. But as far as I can see, you're big boned friend does not. He has no defense against him. An interesting target. A large vessel of potion, waiting to be used and disposed off…" She gasped as Asterix forcefully grabbed her and threw her against the tree she had been immobilizing him against before. She had finally crossed the line.

"Enough," he yelled. He saw her flinch and slowly realized how tight his grip on her arms was. He let go, feeling defeated and ashamed of losing his temper so badly he had actually hurt her. He fully expected to have her attack him, but she didn't. She was completely confusing him. One second, she was a like a viper, hissing and ready to sting, the next she looked like a lost little girl.

"You want to know more about Mesmeron," she said softly. He turned to face her again. "I'm telling you more. You want to understand what you're facing, and I'm showing you. It takes no expert to see that the bond between you and Obelix, and if you start to cross Mesmeron, that is where he will attack you. Do you really want to risk that and probably even more, for a fight that's not even yours?"

"For a mad girl, you sound pretty rational." He answered. She looked surprised, then, while she pushed back a few strands of soaked hair, a small smile appeared on her lips. Just as he was starting to smile back, it was gone again. He sighed.

"Look, for some people, that would be very valuable advice. But I know the people in our village. Some of them lost a lot fighting for their freedom, and they will see your solution as surrendering to another enemy. That is not how they want to live, and neither do I. Standing back is good advice for a little while, but sooner or later, someone will lose his or her patience and defy him. I'd rather have a plan ready when it comes to that." He was somewhat surprised he had been able to say that much without being interrupted.

"Are the people of you village generally impatient then?" A small smile had returned. "Well, I guess they can't all be as easy-going as me," he joked, and this time she really laughed. It was a stunning difference. She sobered up quite quickly, but he made a mental note not forget to tell Obelix about this.

"if Manilla would just step forward and taught him, neither the Forest House or your village would be in danger," She said. Then her look darkened again. "But she won't do that. If you fight, you'll be on your own, and you'll lose."

"And you?" Asterix asked. "Can you really live with Mesmeron walking around freely?" "Barely. But there are still things I could bear even less, and Mesmeron knows me too well by now not to make sure they would happen."

Asterix studied her face. There were small scars from branches that had brushed against it, and a minor bruise on one of her cheeks. "Have you really lost your healing powers?" he asked. "Can't seem to set my mind on them very well," she replied airily. Still he felt it was better not to push this matter.

"Look Phyllis, I understand you don't want to be near Manilla, but you could probably use some rest and shelter. Even if you're not willing to fight him, you're still following Mesmeron around. Apparently you're strategy of standing back is not working that well. If you come to our village, maybe we can find a way to break the power he has over your life and you'd at least be free to decide what you want to do next."

Her eyes were large as saucers and her entire expression was as if he had been talking to her in a foreign language.

"Is it your parents you think he'll hurt?" he asked softly? "I'm sure Manilla could protect them with her defensive powers. It is really the least she could do."

He reached for one of her pale hands, but she withdrew it at the last moment, stepping back.

"I can't. I won't" she said, a little more forcefully, though there was still some doubt in her voice. "If there is one way to make sure you get Mesmeron's attention on you, that would be it." Before Asterix could argue, she was gone. There was not even a rush of wind this time. It was a little disappointing that he did not get her to come with him, but at least he had seen she had not completely lost her marbles, like Manilla had implied. And he knew what he had to find out next. Mesmeron apparently had some influence over her, and he doubted it had something to do with mind-control. She had been far too random to be controlled by someone.

Phyllis was clearly not going to tell him more, and he very much doubted Manilla would. So he could only turn to Bonny next. He really hoped the lunch between her and Obelix had gone well.


	10. Chapter 10

_I still do not own any characters but Phyllis, Bonny, Manilla and Mesmeron. The others belong to Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo._

_Reviews are always welcome! _

Obelix was waiting for him near the front gates, almost as soaked as he was. He must have been waiting there for quite a while already. This lessened the possibility that his trip had gone unnoticed, but Asterix was too preoccupied by his encounter with Phyllis to care.

"You were certainly gone long enough," Obelix moped, hiding his worry over his smaller friend rather poorly. "And you didn't even bring back any boars."

"Well, no," Asterix said, slightly irritated, "but that was not the point. I did meet…" Obelix held up his hands, "Okay, Okay, but let's go to my hut first. I did manage to make some soup and you're completely soaked….unless you need to pass by Vitalstatistix first?"

Only now, Asterix started to feel cold, and hungry too, after all, he skipped lunch and it was almost time for dinner. "It can wait," he said, "Let's go to you place." Before he could talk to his chief, he needed some time to recollect his thoughts, and telling Obelix was a good start.

As he entered Obelix' hut, Bravura leapt forward, jumping at his arms. She did not seem to be limping anymore. Obelix handed him a blanket, that he wrapped around himself, shivering slightly. Fall was really setting in now. He wondered if Phyllis had a place to get warm and dry. Somehow he doubted it. Obelix handed him a bowl of soup and Bravura jumped on his lap. "Bonny cured her then?"

Obelix eyes lit up. "Yes, it was pretty amazing, you should have seen it. She couldn't really get hold over Bravura at first, you know how she gets. And then Bonny shot some sort of glowing blue ball at her, that she got caught in. She walked around in it during half lunchtime, and she has not been limping since. Bonny said that throwing power at something was a thing she learned from Phyllis. Normally you need contact with the person you cure, apparently.

Asterix tensed at the mention of the black-haired girl he met just moments ago. "Did Bonny tell you anything more about Phyllis." "I think she regretted bringing it up in the first place. It tried to ask about her, but Bonny kept starting about something else. So I dropped it….did you find her? Phyllis? And that Melon-guy?"

"Mesmeron," Asterix corrected. "No I saw absolutely no sign of him…unless you count the illusion Phyllis created of him." Obelix frowned and Asterix started telling him about his encounter with Phyllis, trying to remember every detail. He even told Obelix how he had lost his temper with her, though he still felt pretty bad about it. The only thing he tuned down a little was what she had said about Obelix. It made his behavior look even worse, but for some reason, he found it important that Phyllis did not make to bad an impression. He could see what she had wanted him to realize. There was no way he could act as she proposed though. This brought his thoughts back to Bonny. Obelix was still mulling over his story, so he had to repeat his question.

"Obelix!"

"Hmm..oh, what?"

"I said, how did your lunch go?"

Obelix turned beet-red. "Well we ate…actually Bonny ate, and I talked. I was not that hungry." He seemed surprised about it himself. "But I actually talked to her." He looked quite proud. Then his thoughts went back to eating: "I'm completely starving now though, and you did not bring back any boars," he added, with a reproachful tone of voice that Asterix pointedly ignored. "Where is she now?" he asked.

"Who, Bonny?" Asterix rolled his eyes. "No, Impedimenta, of course Bonny! Who else?"

"What?" Obelix answered, indignantly, "Am I clairvoyant? How am I supposed to know what women you have on your mind?"

"Obelix!"

"Fine, fine." Obelix paused to think. "She went, or rather, she was dragged off by some little village kids. They wanted to learn how to braid their hair like her. She really has very nice hair, so shiny…." Asterix raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and I haven't seen her since, I was looking out for you."

"Well, I need to find out what Mesmeron could use to keep Phyllis at bay, and Bonny is my best shot." He jumped up, placed the sleeping Bravura on the blanket and headed for the door. As he opened it, he immediately stood face to face with the woman he was going to look for. He was startled for a moment. "Bonny! Good to see you, we were just going to look for you.

She looked him up and down, a her hazel eyes a little cooler than usual. He immediately realized she knew about his trip. She walked in and shut the door behind her. "I already found it a bit strange that you were not joining us for lunch. And then I saw Obelix looking out for you at the gates. You went to look for Phyllis, didn't you?" Asterix simply nodded.

"You were gone quite long. I was about to warn Manilla when I saw you were back."

"Why didn't you do that immediately then?"

She ignored his question. "How was she? Whas she okay?" The eagerness and worry in her voice made clear why she had interrupted his investigation. It was a difficult question for the little warrior. Was Phyllis okay? He hesitated "Well , I wouldn't say okay…" Because it was difficult to define what state Phyllis was in, he started to recount his meeting with the raven-haired girl again, though in a little less detail this time. After he finished, he concluded: "So I think she's pretty miserable, and Mesmeron does indeed seem to have some kind of hold over her. But she spoke her own mind, she was not under his control.

"How can you be so sure?" Bonny all but whispered her question, obviously affected by his words.

"It's hard to explain. For one thing, she was just too incoherent to be working on someone else's program. Part of her reactions reminded me of the Phyllis Manilla described to us. It's just intuition actually, but it doesn't make me less sure it's correct." To Asterix, it really didn't matter that much anyway. It was obvious to him that Phyllis needed help. And that to safeguard his village, he would probably need her help as well. Even if she couldn't , she needed to be free to act as she wished.

"And another thing," he added, "She seemed completely sane to me." It sounded a bit sharper than intended.

"Well, she wasn't back then," Bonny murmured, rubbing the burned forearm that Manilla had exposed before.

"Why did you not heal you arm?" Obelix asked her.

"Because I can't. Nor can anyone else. I told you that healing has to do with focusing on the positive, on growth and strength in yourself. When I look at this arm, I see nothing but a friendship that died, and my own weakness. It makes me realize things. I let Phyllis down."

"Well, that's not exactly…" "No Asterix," she interrupted, "I could see back at your hut that you thought so too. And you're right. I messed up. I should not have hesitated, even if the fight went different from what was planned. Even if it seemed impossible, I should have been by her side. I was afraid to lose her though. She and Manilla are the closest thing to a family I have. I never knew my parents. She was like a sister to me. I was so afraid that I would lose the little family I created around me, that I panicked. And although she didn't die, Phyllis is just a lost to me. Our friendship is damaged beyond repair, and so is this arm," she said, shaking back her sleeve, tracing the scar with her slender fingers.

Obelix stared helplessly at his best friend, as if urging him to say something.

"Well…you can't undo what happened in the past," he confirmed, "But that does not mean that you're friendship is beyond repair…You're both alive, and you obviously care for her…so it's not too late."

"Yeah", Obelix added enthusiastically, "Me and Asterix, we fight all the time, and we always manage to make things up." Bonny gave him a soft smile, "I don't think it's the same, Obelix."

"Sure it is," Asterix said briskly. "We can start by finding out what it has that Mesmeron has control over. It must be something she cares for…" "Mesmeron pretty much took all that away from her already," Bonny said, her tone slightly bitter, "and she pushed off everyone else, I don't see what it could be."

"Maybe her parents?" Asterix offered.

"Lucius and Myra?" she said, surprised. "No Asterix, that's not it. They returned to Greece when we started preparing to fight Mesmeron, Phyllis convinced them it was better they were not close to her.

"And they agreed?" Asterix asked disbelievingly. "I thought it was strange too," Bonny said, but it is just how they act. They understood that Phyllis could never be happy letting Mesmeron go, but that the thing she feared most was him hurting her true family. They went away to protect her against that. Besides Phyllis is not an only child, she has a younger sister, Joci. She must be about fifteen now. After Mesmerons attack on Phyllis, her parents did come to the Forest House. I don't think she would have made it without them. Initially I thought she had gone to Greece with them, but she stayed. So there must be something keeping her here.

"Maybe it's you?" Obelix offered. Asterix immediately thought it was possible, but Bonny threw back her head in obvious disbelief.

"First of all, I can defend myself against Mesmeron. I may not be strong enough to protect entire crowds, but I can resist his games and attacks. Phyllis and Manilla taught me well. Second, she will never forgive me."

"I find that hard to believe," Asterix countered. "You were the closest friends for so long, and she seems like a person who knows the value of that."

"She does. But my behavior back then made her lose something she valued maybe even more. She cared so much for that horse, and…By Belenos." Bonny's eyes widened in sudden realization. "It must be Goliath. If Mesmeron wanted control over.." "Wait, the horse survived? But you said.."

"Goliath took an attack from Mesmeron, she should have died…but she was not there when I found Phyllis, and I was to worried over her to think twice about it. But if you think of it, Phyllis was the incarnation of what Mesmeron wanted, all his powers and the ability to heal. Maybe he saw an opportunity in cursing her horse…"

"What do you mean, curse?"

"Well actually I mean more like an illusion…like if Phyllis would try find her horse, she would not recognize her. She can only find her if she cooperates with Mesmeron."

"Goliath was not there in the forest," Asterix said. "That you did not see her does not necessarily mean she was not there. But I don't think so. Phyllis…Phyllis hates Mesmeron, too much even to give him what he wants." "Yet she proposed to me to just give into him."

"Yeah, well, she always wanted to keep everyone as uninvolved with him as possible…"

"So how can you break that illusion?" Asterix asked eagerly. He knew it was possible. "By knowing it is not real I guess. Phyllis normally can, but if the illusion was created right after she was attacked, it had all the time to sink in. You and I would just see Goliath you know, the illusion is on the person who sees it, not on the item or being itself."

"Great! So all we have to do is find that horse." He looked at Bonny a bit regretful. "Pity you didn't realize this sooner, you could have found her long before now. But we can go to our Chief right now, and then you can come along when we start looking for her…"

"Asterix…" Bonny looked uncomfortable, "Manilla needs me here, in case Mesmeron attacks, and she will not want to see you go after Goliath either. Finding her may not be so difficult, but so far no one who ever crossed Mesmerons plans survived.

"Nonsense, Phyllis survived, Manilla did…" "Manilla is part of Mesmerons agenda, he needs her. And maybe the same goes for Phyllis. And if it doesn't…she is still alive yes, but at what price?"

Asterix stood up, determined as ever, "Time to lower that price a little. Let's go." He headed for the door."

"It is not worth it!" Bonny almost yelled, "By Belissima, think about it, you're putting yourself and you're entire village in danger for just a horse!"

Asterix eyes drifted to Obelix, who held Dogmatix against his chest. His entire composure showed hurt and shock. "Just a horse…"he murmured softly, looking down at Idefix, who whimpered a little, sensing his owner's change of mood. Bonny picked up his words, and she looked guilty, but she argued: "Oh, come on Obelix, I like pets too, but you would not risk you village over Dogmatix now would you?"

The question hung in the air, the unspoken answer lurking in the uncomfortable silence that filled the hut. Finally Asterix chose to voice it: "Yes he would. We would." Obelix threw him an appreciative look, and he became defensive when Bonny looked exasperated. "And why not? Dogmatix has done more than his part in defending our village, even if he is JUST a dog. He rose from his chair. "You know, Maybe Phyllis is right in her opinion of you. You're not that good a friend if you won't help us to make her happy again, simply because you don't think her pet is worth the risk."

Bonny looked as if she was slapped across the face. Asterix was shocked himself. He knew how much Obelix cared for Dogmatix, and how Bonny's statement must have stung him, but he barely recognized his best friend. It was worse than any fights they ever had. Obelix words sounded cold and definite. It was not just anger. Obelix got angry quite often actually, but he warmed up again just as easily. This was not like him at all.

Obelix walked out of the door, not even glancing back. Asterix looked at Bonny, who was close to tears. He had no idea what to say to her. Bonny shook her head when he opened his mouth. "Just go," she whispered. And so he did.


	11. Chapter 11

_I don't own the characters of Albert Uderzo and Réné Goscinny. If I did, Asterix would never have met any aliens. 'shudders'. At least Asterix himself does not have to remember that!_

His course of action now clear, Asterix really did not want to waste any more time. He needed to inform Vitalstatistix, and even more important to him, Getafix. They had not really gotten a chance to talk things trough. But it would all have to wait a little longer. Obelix needed him first. It was confronting to watch how both Bonny and Phyllis suffered under their ended friendship. It reminded him that it was not something to be taken for granted.

Obelix did not go far, he was moping somewhere on a bench, angrily lancing pebbles away at the pond in front of him. Only instead of ending up in the water, the bounced on it once and were lanced to the other side of it. Asterix could hear a faint yelp in the distance as one of the pebbles landed on an unexpectant fellow village. He settled himself beside his large friend. "Easy with those, buddy," he said. "Our friends can't really help you being angry you know."

Obelix sniffed indignantly. "Bet they think the same. Bet they don't want us to go either. Bet Vitalstatistix will say we can't leave the village for something like that…" Obelix paused his rant, out of things to bet on. "Panacea would never have said something like that." He finally concluded.

Asterix chuckled. Comparing every woman to Falbala was a sure way to not leave you bachelor status any time soon. But it was a bit unfair as well.

"No she would not have said that," he agreed. "Since she's a complete animal-lover. She almost hugs Dogmatix to death every time she gets her hands on him, and they have not chosen to handle in horses by coincidence either. It is not really a good comparison."

Obelix just huffed a bit in response.

"Look, Bonny just does not like pets like you do. That does not make her a bad person. She just thinks a bit differently about a certain matter. If you would manage to complete your sentences in a conversation to Panacea, you would find out she has other opinions than she has too."

Obelix did not react at all this time. He was obviously not convinced.

"For example, she seems to think Tragicomix is pretty great, while you insist he is an overcooked endive. Granted, you might not be completely objective on that one, but still, you obviously don't agree on that one."

Obelix opened his mouth to object, but no sound came out. Asterix simply raised an eyebrow, and Obelix gave in. "Right, okay, you do have a point." He pondered it for a while.

"But still, if Goliath is important to Phyllis, a good friend would think she was important too." Asterix nodded. "Yeah, and I really think Bonny understands that, she doesn't blame Phyllis for getting angry over it. But it is probably just more complicated than that. Manilla means a lot too Bonny too, and she decided to take people over horses…"

"I do understand, but to me it doesn't really matter that Dogmatix is a dog, he's a friend. Worth protecting just as much as the rest of the village."

"And I think Phyllis is in good need of a friend right now. So we should make it she has at least one again. And since their friendship blew up at least partly over that horse, having it back might open other gates again as well. I'll just tell Vitalstatistix that Mesmeron uses the horse to keep Phyllis in check and that it might come out bad for us, since it means two wizards to cross instead of one…it is not untrue, although I don't believe Phyllis is really a threat to us. Her hatred towards Mesmeron is too big."

"Nasty character, that Mesmeron." Obelix remarked.

"He certainly knows how to attack where it hurts most." Asterix agreed. He remembered Phyllis remarks on Obelix, and suddenly it did not seem such a good idea to have Obelix along with him. It would just expose their friendship. He shook his head. He could talk it trough with Obelix later. First it was time to talk to Vitalstatistix.

Asterix had hoped to talk to Vitalstatistix alone first, but as they arrived at his hut, Getafix, Manilla, and their bard where there already. There was no sign of Bonny, and it was difficult to see if she had talked to Manilla, because her clear blue eyes were completely neutral as she greeted him.

"So? What did you find out?" Vitalstatistix asked.

For the third time Asterix retold his encounter with Phyllis. And he made sure to stress the danger in leaving her in her present situation, cleverly avoiding a confrontation with Manilla about whether or not Phyllis could be an ally to them. Manilla had made effort to point Phyllis could be dangerous, to prevent him from contacting her, and he used exactly that argument to convince his chief. It was not his main motivation, but it won his chief over. However, Manilla could feel he was twisting his goals a little. "And what do you expect will happen afterwards? Do you believe bringing that horse back will restore her trust? Do you think she'll try to fight Mesmeron again?"

Asterix returned the question: "Well you know her better. What do you believe what will happen."

Manilla took her time to answer.

"Supposing for a minute that you actually find that horse, and bring it back, in good health…I'm not sure. The Phyllis as I knew her before Mesmeron would become a fierce ally to you. Not simply because you helped her. People who managed to handle Goliath well were always worth a soft spot for Phyllis. On the other hand, Phyllis has over the last eight years become a loner, distanced and isolated, and the last three years I have no idea where she went and what she did. She could also take off…."

"Well that would still mean one wizard less to deal with," Vitalstatistix said.

"But at what price? Even if Asterix finds Goliath…"

"When," Obelix corrected.

"When he finds her, he will be the cause of Mesmeron losing his influence over Phyllis. As far as I can hear from what she said to you, she told you not to cross him. Has it crossed you mind that she might not want you to go after the horse? That she might stop you?"

"Why would she do that?" Obelix said, surprised.

"Because you are crossing the path of an extremely vengeful person, who would not think twice about killing a horse or your friend."

Obelix paled a little at the harsh answer.

Asterix intervened. "What Phyllis said, was also to give Mesmeron the potion and throw you and Bonny out of the village. Since I can't agree with that, the idea of not crossing Mesmeron will not hold and we have to find a way to lessen his power."

"And so we should stop wasting time," Vitalstatistix said impatiently. "It is not like we have different options to consider. Asterix will get that horse. But…" He paused, looking at Obelix. He was their best safeguard apart from Asterix. Only Obelix would never agree to stay behind. He had never done so before.

"I think it's best if I go alone," Asterix suddenly said.

"No way," Obelix said promptly.

"Let me explain Obelix. The way Mesmeron works, he'll try to set us up against each other, or something like that. It's the kind of thing he does, Phyllis said something about it. And you stand out. If he was watching over the village, he would notice you were gone immediately."

"But how can I possibly…."

"I don't like it either Obelix, but I'd just feel better if you'd stay here, for the village, and so Mesmeron cannot play any tricks on us. An illusion that keeps you from recognizing one of your best friends…if he can create that, imagine what more he could do.

Obelix opened and closed his mouth. He wanted to object, he really did. But he knew himself. He did have a tendency to fall for tricks, even when they were played by silly people like the Romans. And if he did, Asterix could be in danger because of him. Again.

"Fine," he simply muttered. Asterix was quite surprised; he had not expected Obelix to give in that easily.

"How are you going to find that horse?" Getafix asked. He had not said anything before, but now he moved towards the core problem of the discussion.

"Are you not going to object?" Manilla asked. She sounded calm, but it was clear she was not too happy with the plans that were being made.

"Asterix is not one of my students anymore. He hasn't been for quite a while in fact. And he had his fair share of adventures. I trust he will act wisely. Besides, we should stand together in this, and support possible solutions rather than fear them. That is a lesson that we must draw from your story."

Asterix felt quite relieved at the apparent approval of his plans.

"Manilla, where do you think the horse will be?" Getafix added gently.

Manilla took her time to answer. "Mesmeron's illusion is something he put on Phyllis, so Goliath could be anywhere. But if he wants to make sure he notices when Phyllis tries to break her illusion, he would have to be in a reasonable distance." She paused a little. "And that horse… is just not that easy to handle. She could be plain aggressive. Lucius told me the owner was about to put her down when he bought her. There were some people who managed to handle her though, all friends to Phyllis. It would be an idea to put her under someone's care….Like the man she bought her saddles from and who tended Goliath's hooves . He also had his own stables. I have never met him, but Bonny went with Phyllis a few times. It was about four days travelling from the Forest House.

"But he would recognize Goliath then, wouldn't he? Would he not contact Phyllis? Or is he also under an illusion?" Asterix was a little confused over all this. It was very difficult still to understand how it all worked. "You do not necessarily need magic to create an illusion," Manilla said calmly. "First of all, Phyllis made it especially difficult to be contacted. She contacts you, not the other way around. As you already noticed. Second of all, a simple lie could prevent the horse trader from contacting her. He was probably told Phyllis died. I do believe that he would need to be under a spell to keep Goliath under his care. He knew Phyllis before she ever became involved with Mesmeron….She was the sort of person that you instantly cared for. Never walking in line yet always trying to do the right thing…." She shook her head sadly.

"Well," Vitalstatistix said. "The Forest house is not that far from our village, so neither will the horse be, if you theory is correct. And since you told us there is still time, I don't see why we could not send Asterix and Bonny to find that horse. It will be easier if they both go. With the magic potion they should only be gone for a couple of days."

"I cannot change your mind," Manilla said in a resigned tone. "But I need Bonny to be able to protect village. Mesmeron will prepare his next step carefully, but if he should somehow notice that Asterix crosses him that way, he will strike immediately. Crossing Mesmeron will mean repercussions."

"If you really wanted us to do nothing, you should not have come here," Asterix said, "We cannot just leave things as they are right now."

"I understand, I just want you to realize what the consequences could be. I made a mistake in not preparing Phyllis for what she was up against, and I'm not making that mistake again. Yet it seems to matter very little…"

Asterix did not reply. Her words had more of an effect on him than he would like. He knew what the flaw in this plan was: crossing Mesemeron should come after finding a way to defeat him. But things were as they were. Mesmeron had managed to isolate Phyllis from the others, and he wanted to keep it that way. It felt as a key element to his power, something that needed to be changed.

"It does matter," he finally said. "Your story shows this is not an enemy to tackle on your own. You are in trouble because he managed to divide you."

"Just bringing back her horse will not make her trust you or me. She stopped trusting me long before that final blow. It is not that simple."

"It's a start," Asterix said firmly, and he walked out of the hut to go and find Bonny. He wanted to leave tonight, and he needed more information. He found her quite quickly, she was watching some of the village children play, not really focusing on them. It was hard to read her expression. He sat beside her, and before he could ask her anything, she started to speak.

"The Forest House is my home. My only home. I'm an orphan, my parents died when I was like two years old. Manilla took me with her. She is the closest thing I have to a family, she is like a mother to me. It made my position towards the others kind of awkward. If they went home, I stayed, and some of them envied the bond I have with Manilla. Phyllis never did, she simply didn't care. Her family lived so close and visited so often she had no need to seek attention from our teachers. She became like a sister to me. We could bicker endlessly, I never had to fear losing her. She always spoke her mind, and I felt like I could do the same…But then Mesmeron entered our lives and while she went to great lengths to keep him away from her parents and her real sister, she kept involving me in everything. Somehow it felt like defeating Mesmeron was worth losing me."

"Maybe she was just convinced you were strong enough…"

"Maybe, and I would not have left her on her own no matter what…."

"Well there you go,"

"Yes, but still, it hurt me sometimes. She never asked me if I was prepared to go along with her plans. She took for granted all the times I had to lie to Manilla, how I had to betray my foster mothers' trust to keep her secrets…"

Asterix was silent. It sounded like a mistake he had made before with Obelix, when he was busy making plans. And Obelix had voiced his dismay over it plenty of times. Apparently Bonny never did.

"And I know that horse meant the world to her, but is she really cared for me like I did for her, wouldn't she have been able to forgive me?"

Asterix understood, but he did not have any answers. He could not help Bonny with that. The only thing he could try to do was to bring Phyllis back in the picture. He told Bonny about Manilla's assumptions.

"Philip. That's the name of the guy. He's not really a horse trader, he has a riding school. Phyllis liked him a lot. He would certainly take care of Goliath." She gave him directions and went to see Manilla. Asterix for his part went to Getafix for a flask of magic potion, and hopefully some good advice.

However, the only advice Getafix could give him was to be very careful and not too trust on his eyes only. Something that he had already figured out after Phyllis performance. He now only had to say goodbye to Obelix, which he did not look forward to. Obelix had agreed with him, but his face had clearly shown he hated to do so. He had very little time to think over what he was going to say to Obelix. The large Gaul had been waiting at the entrance of Getafix hut, guessing Asterix' line of thoughts. Without a word, he handed Dogmatix to his smaller friend, who took the little dog from him in surprise.

"Dogmatix can help find the horse," Obelix said simply. "If you could find something that belonged to the horse, like a blanket or something, he can pick up the scent and it will be easier to recognize her.

This was the useful advice he needed. Nevertheless, he just had to object: "But Obelix…" "Oh quit it Asterix, he is not too small. He even managed to find us in the pyramids."

"I know he did, that was not what I was going to say." Obelix waited for him to continue. "What I mean is, it would certainly help to have Dogmatix with me, but are you sure you are okay with that? I mean you never want to leave him behind and now you are just…"

"I just want you to return as quickly as possible, and Dogmatix can help with that," Obelix shrugged. "I don't like it really, not Dogmatix going or you going, but if you think it's best I stay in the village…." He seemed to hope Asterix would change his mind about it. The blonde warrior felt a strong urge to defend his decision.

" It think it's best for us and for the village. It gives us the best chance of taking that horse back to the rightful owner unnoticed." I do not fancy facing that wizard right now, and I do not think Phyllis is up for it either. I do think that even if we did nothing, it will be inevitable sooner or later. And if Phyllis should decide to come to the village anyway, you are probably the one she's going to trust the easiest.

"Why's that?" Obelix questioned.

"Because you're honest. And if she's smart, she'll realize that."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

There was an awkward silence. Asterix was truly touched by Obelix actions. Someone who knew the delivery man less well could shrug of his actions as mere helpfulness, but Asterix knew exactly what Dogmatix meant to Obelix. It showed how much he cared.

"Well, I'll best be on my way then," Asterix said, surprised at how unsure those words came out.

"You're not going to wait until morning?"

"No, best not to waste any more time. And the dark may help to cross the forest unnoticed…maybe."

"Okay… well…see you later then."

Asterix was already turning, when he felt Obelix large hands on his shoulders. He turned round to face his friend, who looked worried and was slightly red-eyed. "Please be careful," he almost whispered. Asterix smiled "Of course," he said. "And thanks for letting Dogmatix go with me. "You're a great friend. The very best, in fact." He gave a short, one-armed hug, since he was still carrying Dogmatix.

Obelix smiled at his last words and turned away. As Asterix set off, he headed for his menhirs. This was not a time to sit back and wait. He did not want to think about Asterix and Dogmatix, illusions and wizards. He had very little fears, but the combination of those thoughts could provoke some images that would definitely scare him.

_P.S._

_I do not know if it is the same in the English version, but Obelix calls Tragicomix an endive in the Legionary in the French version._

_P.S.S._

_I'm not sure if I'm going to work out Asterix journey as such, since there is still a lot to come after he returns and it seems more interesting to put the focus on that. But maybe it is something that you would expect as a reader? Of course, defeating Mesmeron will be the main goal….but as Asterix already said, this is the start of that._

_Feedback welcome as always, about this or previous chapters, questions, expectations….I welcome all of it! __ I never get tired of thinking about Asterix and co ._


	12. Chapter 12

_I still don't own any of the characters beside the girls, Mesmeron, Lucius and Philip._

The sun was setting, but there were no stars in the sky yet when Asterix left the village. He decided to watch over Laudanum for a while until it was really dark. He preferred not to walk around too much, seeing as Phyllis had easily tracked him last time. He sought refuge in one of the threes, which gave him a good overview over the camp while shielding him from view the same time.

After a while, he could make out an old man walking around the camp, accompanied by the current centurion. It was too dark to be certain if it was Mesmeron, the only thing he could see was the figure was slightly hunched and assumingly walking with a stick. He fought the urge to get closer. And the temptation of warning people at the village. They already knew Mesmeron was probably staying in one of the Roman camps anyway. But even though it was dark enough to start moving, he somehow found it difficult to leave his spot, to tear his eyes from possible one of the biggest threats ever to his village and just leave. It felt completely unnatural.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling noise a few trees behind him. At first he thought of a squirrel, but the figure that started moving from branch to branch was too large to be anything that usually resided in a three. He could nearly not believe his luck as he saw Phyllis gliding down towards the forest ground. Maybe, with the help of the magic potion, he could follow her to where she was residing. She would probably notice him sooner or later, but if he managed to find something belonging to Goliath…. He took a sip of magic potion, placed Idefix in the neck of his shirt, so he wouldn't fall down, and started to follow her.

Not before long, they reached a place in the forest that contained some of the oldest oak trees in the forest. He knew the place well, since Getafix often went there to collect mistletoe for the magic potion. Phyllis went up in one of the largest trees. Following her was risky, since she would certainly hear him climb if she decided to pause for a little while. So he stayed at the ground, placed himself behind some bushes and waited. The large oak trees sat together in a small clearing in the forest, since they cast such a heavy shadow few things managed to grow underneath. Unless she could make jump over 7 meters far or fly, she would have to come down to leave the trees. He had been prepared to convince her of his plans, but he suspected it would be the most difficult part of the entire quest. She had not wanted him to know about Goliath, that much was clear. If he had a chance to find something with the horses scent on without her knowledge, it was also safer for her. She wouldn't be involved.

It took about half an hour before she came down again, jumping from branch to branch again, not losing her balance even once. It looked a bit unnatural. Soon she reached the ground and was swallowed up by the darkness as she went in the direction of Laudanum again. This was his chance.

He had to climb way up before he reached her hide-out. He recognized the design immediately. A small hut with a triangular roof made from leaved branches. He had helped to make similar tree houses for Cacofonix when he went in the forest to "meditate". Only they had had ladders to climb up, a thing that Phyllis obviously not needed. She had to have made it herself, he was sure he had never made a hut here for Cacofonix. For one thing, it was way to high up, and for another, he would never have picked such a high tree to begin with. They had a much bigger chance to get struck by lightning. Cacofonix singing had a tendency of provoking bad weather, and though the bard's singing was as awful to Asterix as to the rest of the village, he would not like to see him toasted during a particularly intensive meditation session.

Asterix entered the hut. It was now completely dark, but the stars and the moon provided some light. He could make out a blanket in the corner, a travelling cloak, a small kettle and a few clothes. Herbs were hanging from the roof, apparently to dry. On the blanket, there was a leather package, which upon inspection, contained two books, written in Latin. One seemed to be a about plants, the other a medical work. Asterix walked a little to the edge of the hut, to have more light. The first pages of the books showed an identical author: Lucius Milanus. He recognized the name at once. Phyllis' father. Suddenly he felt a bit guilty. He was supposed to be looking for things that contained Goliath's scent. He wasn't going to find that in a book. Of course he needed to know if she could be trusted, but actually he did not really doubt that. So he was just being curious.

He looked at the package again, and noticed there were small side pockets in it. One contained a mirror with a wooden carved handle, set with little sparkling stones. Another a small vial with some kind of liquid in it. The last pocket contained a lock of black hair, bound together with a leather strap. He carefully touched it. Phyllis had black hair. But why would she keep a lock of her own hair. He let it slide through his fingers, and decided that she didn't. It was not human hair, it was much thicker. He smiled. This was what he needed. He carefully pocketed it and stood up again. He walked towards the pile of clothes, a thought forming in his head. Idefix could link smells with people and animals. Maybe horses could too. If Goliath was that difficult, it might not be easy to bring her with him…after some hesitation, he took out a shirt that looked more suited for summer weather than the chilly nights in the forests. It couldn't hurt to try.

He was ready to go and he had not time to waste. But he thought of Phyllis returning to find some of her belongings gone. It did not feel right. The package obviously contained things she cherished. She would miss them. Would she be angry? Maybe go to the village to retrieve them. Then again, she could not know it was Asterix who took these things away. Maybe she would think it was Mesmeron. That would be even worse, he could only imagine how she would feel and react to that. He couldn't just leave it like that. He sat down again. In the second book, there had been some empty pages at the back. It meant he had to damage the book a little, but he decided it was worth it. He scribbled down a quick note, and put it in the pocket that had contained the lock of hair.

Phyllis felt pretty irritated with herself. She had not noted Asterix following her. In fact, she had almost flat out ran into him, as she went back up to hang up some more herbs. Being silent had become a second nature to her, but still, she did not expect any intruders. She did her very best to control her fury; if she lost control, he might sense her powers. And she was surprised. Mesmeron was moving around freely in the Roman camps, why was the little warrior not observing hím?

She had planned to observe him as he went through her stuff, to find out what he was looking for, than confront him as he was about to leave. So she had shielded herself from view. But he did not, as she expected, look for things related to her powers. Instead, he took out the lock of hair. She almost choked in anger at that. But the shirt confused her. Why did he need these things? Her eyes got a reddish shine as she let her powers flow. He was going to explain this. But before she had stepped into view, he had dropped on his knees again, now writing a note. Again, she was taken aback, by his actions, and his serious face as he scribbled away. And for some reason, she let him go without revealing herself, to curious about his writing to immediately confront him. If the message angered her enough, she would have no trouble catching up with him, magic potion or not.

Her eyes went wide as she scanned the few sentences he had scribbled. Her already pale face turned a chalky white as their meaning started to sink in. She looked round wildly, not really knowing what she was searching for. Was this an illusion? Quivering, she sat down cross-legged and tried to focus. But no matter how much she focused, she felt not even the faintest trace of Mesmeron. She looked down at the message again, still not believing it.

She thought she had lost the warmth of truly trusting someone for good. But as Asterix' bright blue eyes had searched her face, she believed the worry she saw in them was as real as his anger over the words she had spoken about his friend. As he looked at her, it had felt like he could see the pieces of her shattered heart behind her cold mask, which she had worn for so long it chilled her to the bone, and sometimes made her wonder if there was still someone left behind it. Back then, she had shrugged it off as worry for his own people, which she could appreciate enough to try and keep him from getting involved with Mesmeron. She had tried to shield herself by angering him and playing him.

Tried.

Because his actions right now proved she had not succeeded. Because by picking up that lock of hair, he picked up one of those shattered pieces, and his determined way of acting promised he would not let it go easily. Even when he had to know how badly it could cut him. Manille had to have warned him about that. And if she didn't, Phyllis needed to do so. She needed to stop him. His actions could only bring pain. To her, if he failed and Goliath got in danger, or worse. To him and his friends, if he succeeded, which Mesmeron would find out sooner or later.

But even as she felt fear for both these outcomes, she never moved a muscle. The knowledge that he was willing to try seemed to soften some of those sharp edges that reminded her her heart was shattered. It spread a warmth inside her, and she only realized how much she had yearned for it as she finally felt it again. Her mind told her to push it aside, but something inside her much stronger than her mind told her to hang onto this feeling with every power that was left inside her. And so she did.

Stepping out to help him would only alert Mesmeron sooner. Mesmeron had a power over her that she had not managed to break, he would notice if she went to accompany Asterix on a quest that mattered so much to her. It took her a few moments to overcome the overwhelming urge to follow him, knowing where he was trying to go. But the past had taught her that much. Her only other option was to mirror his actions. She had to read him like he had read her. If she was going to let him walk to what would almost certainly become his downfall, at least she owed him that.

It had been strange to watch someone so fearless, when she had gotten so used of provoking fear with everything she did. But even if he did not seem to fear for his own life, her remarks about his larger-than-life friend had replaced that friendly spark in his eyes by a powerful spark of anger. And she knew better than anyone that anger usually hid other emotions behind its violent outlook. Mesmeron knew how to shatter a person, and it was clear how Asterix could be shattered. If he was on a quest to repair her broken heart than she would do her best to protect his. And So, despite her dismay of the visitors it harbored, she headed for the nameless village near the coast.


	13. Chapter 13

Obelix was in a foul mood. Two days had passed since Asterix left, and everyone was still restricted to the village. Everyone except him, since they still needed supplies from the forest. He considered himself extremely lucky to be the one who fell in the magic potion for once; if he had had to wait like the others, with only his every-day activities to distract him, he would most likely have given up the whole concept of staying out of this adventure. But his supernatural abilities made hunting and gathering supplies for Getafix only short activities. He also thought Getafix was sending him to gather things just to keep him occupied. He knew that Getafix was brewing potions to countereffect illusions, cure wounds and cuts and to create illusions on their own. He was searching for his own means to battle Mesmeron, as he had explained to Obelix. But Obelix was fairly sure that Getafix already knew all these potions quite well. Maybe their druid was doing his best to keep himself busy as well. He confided in Obelix more than usual, Asterix absence seemed to bother him too. But not their druid, Bonny's careful attempts to make amends or the daily errands that Vitalstatistix thought up for him, could really distract him from what was going on. And it certainly did not convince him that staying behind had been the right decision. The forest was deadly calm, the Romans did not attack…if anything was out of the ordinary, it was the unusual quietness of the forest, the Romans and his fellow villagers. There had only been one small fish fight since Asterix left, making the daily record drop by 75%. The other villagers suffered the same discomfort as he did, only in a milder form.

It did not lift his mood to see Bravura walking around. She was positively foul too. Oficially she lived at Obelix' hut, but it had been clear from the start that she took a special liking to Asterix. Some pets like to be petted by everyone, Bravura was not one of them. Obelix could usually handle her fine as well, she normally would like to be petted by him, but right now she seemed to blame him for Asterix' absence. Still, it was well that she did not go with the little warrior, since she had started limping again this morning. He had tried to let Getafix have a look at her paw, but she had growled and fidgeted so much that Getafix could not get a good look. Finally, the old man had suggested to wait a few days. He could always sedate the little dog so he could have a look, but since Bravura was still a pup, there was a risk of overdosing her. It made more sense to wait for Asterix return. That last remark had sent Obelix right into his current mood. Of course it made sense to wait for Asterix. But he hated waiting. He hated making sense. He….had a real hard time hiding his surprise as he saw a tiny black-haired girl sitting on his table as he entered his hut. She was studying the inscriptions of a helmet that once belonged to a roman, without so much as glancing up at him as he closed the door behind him. Since girls sitting on his table (or being in his hut altogether) were not a daily occurrence, he immediately linked the scrawny raven-haired creature in front of him to Asterix' description of her. Seems he was right about thinking she would come here. Obelix was not sure if that was a good thing though. She looked up at him now. Normally, Obelix was quite enthusiastic about meeting new people. But due to this young woman, Asterix was now on a solo trip towards danger. He knew he could not really blame her for this, but she looked quite unfazed by it all, as if a roman helmet was more interesting to her than the faith of his best friend.

Phyllis had heard Obelix coming long before he entered his hut. His sulking mood had increased rapidly over the course of the last two days, and she had grown worried despite herself. Maybe the large warrior knew something she didn't? She hadn't planned on letting him know she was around, but when she heard him approach somehow she could just not bring herself to disappear again. Waiting took even longer when you could not talk to anyone….

Phyllis had done her homework about Asterix when she had first heard his name mentioned by Manilla. She had not trusted Manilla to stick to her decision not to involve Getafix and his fellow villagers back in the past. And as she had inquired about him among roman soldiers, Obelix came into the picture too. They were quite famous, infamous actually. But their strength would not help against Mesmeron. So it had seemed to her that they could be of little assistance against him. She still thought the same way about this. Still, meeting Asterix had been a surprise. She had not expected him to be so perceptive. She thought she had more or less managed to figure him out, without even using much of her abilities. But she had been wrong, because his decision to track down Goliath had been an utter surprise. It seemed like the blonde warrior had done a better job at reading her than she had done on him. This worried her, but it also intrigued her.

During her initial investigation, she had also heard about the idea of Julius Caesar to battle the invincible Gauls with an army of women soldiers, which she had found incredibly funny back then. So stupid. But the idea was defended a little by the centurion who told her the story. According to him, the only thing that could bring the enormous Obelix down was a woman. Looking at him right now, Phyllis seriously doubted this. If she would be able to bring him down, it would most certainly not have anything to do with her being female. Either way, it did not matter, she was not here to pick a fight. She let the helmet turn on one of her fingers "this one looks rather undamaged," she said. "1st legion, 3rd cohort, 2nd maniple. You have friends among Ceasars favourite legion?"

Obelix frowned. It was not quite what he had expected her to say. Then her remark sunk in, and he realized she was holding the helmet Asterix had worn during their adventure to save Tragicomix. His frown deepened. "What are you doing here," he asked, a little surprised at the unfriendly tone his voice carried.

Phyllis seemed quite unaffected by it. "Observing you, I guess," she said frankly. "You seem to be in a rather foul mood. Something the matter?"

Would it hurt to tell her? Obelix wasn't sure. But Asterix seemed to think she could be trusted, and Obelix had his own questions. "Asterix went to search for you horse. Your…uhm…Bonny and Manilla seem to think it is quite dangerous." The last part of his sentence had sounded much like a question, and Phyllis understood she was supposed to deny or confirm the statement.

"If your friend had consulted me on the matter, I would have told him it was pretty much a ticket into serious trouble, but since he didn't, we'll just have to hope for the best, won't we?" Her words did not only lack emotion this time, they also seriously lacked surprise.

"You knew already," Obelix said. The accusing tone in his voice made her raise an eyebrow.

"You know, and yet you're observing ME. Aren't you supposed to be all dark powers and stuff? My best friend is risking his life for YOU. The least you could do is give him a hand!" Obelix was fuming.

She gave him a nasty smile. "Like you're doing?" she shot back, her green eyes flashing dangerously. "Besides, you're giving your buddy an awful lot of credit. For me? Try for getting on my good side, so I won't become an additional problem to your village."

Obelix straightened up. "There would be other ways to solve that," he said, dangerously quiet. They continued to glare at each other for a few moments. Obelix tried to collect his calm again. He did not know exactly what Asterix had expected him to do when Phyllis paid the village a visit, they hadn't really discussed it. But he guessed throwing her a few miles into the sea was probably not it. So instead of doing just that, he launched himself onto one of his chairs. "Asterix does not think like that," he said flatly.

Phyllis was inclined to believe him. Her first instincts told her he was right. But they had been wrong before, and she had learned not to rely on them too much. She felt confused. She had not meant to pick a fight, but it happened anyway.

"Why are you not with Asterix?" she finally asked, carefully avoiding any accusing tone this time. "I mean, I know you're not really a warrior by profession, but you two usually go together no? Did you have a fight?"

Obelix shook his head wildly in denial. "I…I stick out", he said, thinking it sounded quite weakly. "We wanted to avoid to attract attention…" Phyllis looked him up and down. "Yeah," she said, "You do stick out. And you don't have to drink magic potion to be as strong as you are. How did that happen? Did you overdose?" "Fell in when I was little," Obelix murmured.

"It makes you stand out from the rest of the villagers. You're like….the winged helmet in a legion of regular helmets. A valuable collector's item. And Mesmeron likes to collect. Asterix is quite a thinker, isn't he?"

It was Obelix' turn to be confused. Her reasoning made little sense to him. And just a minute ago, she seemed less than happy with Asterix, yet now she was almost paying him a compliment. She continued talking before he could respond: "I'm one too. A collectors' item. Very valuable. The reason Mesmeron chose not to kill Goliath. To control me, to collect me. I'll never become part of his collection, but I….stayed out of his way."

"You really love that horse, don't you?"

"I do. But Mesmeron would know if I tried to reach her. Don't think I never tried. You may stick out, but I'm like a sky-enlightening torch to him. So we're kind of stuck in the same place. My best friend may be on a trip with yours soon."

"She will be. Asterix never fails. But when he succeeds, he will be in danger…"

"He already is. But yes, Mesmeron will be livid."

"Then you owe him something, you have to help him." It did not sound like a plea, more like an order.

"I'm helping. I'm keeping an eye on you."

"That's not going to do much good for Asterix."

"Isn't it? Your village is being threatened; a wizard with almost unlimited power has taken an interest in you. What is your biggest fear?"

Obelix did not have to think two seconds about it. And he understood what she meant to say. Suddenly he appreciated the skinny girl on his table a little more. She was really skinny. Pale as well. He hadn't been a good host up till now. "Would you like something to eat? I was going to make lunch."

"No you weren't. You have barely eaten the last two days. Good thing the wife of your chef has somewhat of an eye for that."

Impedimenta had ordered him to eat dinner with them the previous day. It felt a little creepy, to have Phyllis know these things when he had never been aware of her presence. But Asterix had already warned him about that. He gave her a somewhat irritated look.

"I'll have something if you have something too," she said quickly. "What are you making? Roasted boar?"

"Do you like that?"

"I'd like to try."

As Obelix prepared the boar(s), Phyllis' green eyes darted across the room. After a while, her eye fell upon the little Bravura, nestled upon a blanket. She was licking one of her paws rather obsessively. It seemed to hurt. Phyllis placed herself near the blanket, earning a warning growl from the female pup. Obelix looked up. "She'not really nice," he warned.

"Neither am I," Phyllis countered. She watched Bravura intently for a few minutes. The pup had stopped licking and now just looked at the dark-haired woman. After a while, she nestled a bit more comfortably in the blanket, seemingly deciding there was no immediate reason to be defensive.

"Is she your dog?" Phyllis asked.

"She's a pup of Dogmatix. But she's more Asterix' dog. He couldn't take her. Something is wrong with one of her paws."

"Did you treat it in any way?"

"Well, she's not easy to have a look at. I could hold her still if I wanted, but I'm a bit afraid to hurt her...It seemed better after Bonny treated her, but after a few days, she started limping again." To his surprise, Phyllis did not even flinch at the name of her former best friend.

"How did she treat her?" she asked.

"She threw some sort of blue orb around her." Obelix suddenly remembered something. "Bonny said she learnt that from you. Maybe she did it wrong."

"I doubt that. She's an excellent healer, possibly better than Manilla. I never really learnt her to do what you just described to me. Generally you need like touching contact to transfer the healing powers in a person to the animal or person they want to cure. The same goes for "darker" powers, like mind control. Only, it is not in your best interest to have to touch enemies before you can deal them a blow, so you try to work with indirect contact. Throwing your powers upon them, actually.

I learnt her how to do that. Bonny can cast her healing powers onto something and seemingly forget about them, do other things while her powers continue work. I need more focus to heal. But I can do it with some of my other powers. Do you have tweezers?"

Obelix tried to process and remember all the information about powers, he wanted to relate it to Asterix. But that last question made him forget everything.

"Tweezers?" he repeated, confused. "No, I don't. Getafix might have some." He was reluctant to leave his hut and Bravura alone with Phyllis. "It's for Bravura," she said, locking eyes with him. "Please get me some tweezers. Don't tell anyone I'm here."

Despite his reluctance, he was on his way immediately. When he returned moments later, Phyllis held an almost sleeping Bravura on her lap. Obelix handed her the instrument with a great deal of confusion. He had not planned on leaving his hut, but he had done so without hesitation. Why? And Bravura seemed totally relaxed, although she generally loathed strangers. He felt really uncomfortable. Phyllis massaged Bravura's paw with one hand, holding the tweezers in the other. She was biting her lip in concentrating. Only moments later, a few drops of bright red blood stained the white paw, and Phyllis held up the tweezers to show him what she was holding with them. He looked at the bleeding front paw instead.

"Don't worry about that," she told him. "The blood cleans out the cut made by this thing. It's a thorn. From some kind of berry bush I think. That's why the healing didn't work. If the reason for the wound is still present, it can't heal, can it?" She put the tweezers aside and put her hand over the small paw. Bravura put her head on top of it, and Phyllis smiled a little. It was amazing how the small smile changed her appearance. Her hand glowed, a faint blue light, much like he had seen before. She continued to sit like this for a few minutes, and Obelix held in his question, afraid to disturb her. It was obvious that Bravura already felt better. Only when Phyllis started stroking her, the light slowly fainting from her hands, he dared to ask: "I thought your healing power were gone? You told Asterix so." It sounded a little accusing again.

"I didn't tell him that, I said I couldn't set my mind on them. But I see your point. I didn't lie to him, it was true a few days ago. Few truths are ever-lasting, you know.

He could accept that. Just as he was about to ask what had caused her mind to focus again, he heard a faint nod at the door, followed by a melodic voice calling his name. Bonny. He stood up to open the door, looking at Phyllis, who put a finger on her lips. He opened the door, facing a rather surprised Bonny. He had ignored her as she had come to visit him yesterday. Unsure of what to say to her, he turned back to Phyllis. But she was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

_Disclaimer: Property of Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo_.

Three days after Phyllis' first visit to the village, Asterix was nearing the forest that surrounded his home village, accompanied by two animals. Well, maybe this was a bit of an overstatement. If one wanted to put things correctly, he was accompanied by one, while another was reluctantly following him.

Yes, he succeeded in his mission. Soon he would have Phyllis' horse back with her. Though it remained to be seen what kind of effect Mesmerons' illusions would have, and if she would be able to break through it. He was not really worried about that. The horse had reacted so strongly on the piece of clothing carrying Phyllis' scent, it seemed impossible to him that they would not be stronger than any kind of illusion placed upon them.

But whether their reunion would cause much joy for Phyllis, was something he did worry about. Cause Goliath was not in good shape. She was skinny, her fur was matted and her long black manes tangled. To make things worse, she had several old cuts across the head, and one of her hind legs was clearly swollen. She was reflecting the physical state of her owner, but while Phyllis looked simply under the weather, Goliath was looking positively dreadful. Another thing that reminded him of Phyllis was the horse's temper. Had he not had Phyllis shirt, It might well have been impossible to get the horse to go with him. Sure, he could have used the magic potion to force her, but that would only have worsened her state. It was impossible to give her any sort of care, she tried to bite or kick when he got close. He had taken one measurement though, and that was tricking her into drinking some magic potion. It had been quite a risk, considering her foul temper, but she was limping badly, causing them to advance slowly. The magic potion bettered her condition, if only temporary. He doubted Phyllis would be glad he was getting the horse to run with an injured leg, but as far as he knew, the magic potion did have at least some basic curing effects.

That was not his motivation though. He was worried. Over the village, over Obelix and the rest of his friends. He had left them in quite a situation, and his actions could soon bring them in even more danger. So he wanted to return as fast as possible.

The adventure had basically gone as predicted, except for Goliath less than cheerful state. But she had not been treated badly. Most of the injuries she had, she brought on herself.

He had found Philip, and had pretended to be interested in buying a horse, but also in the entire establishment, which was basically a riding school. This had granted him a tour around. He had not really found a horse that fitted the description he got from Bonny, until they crossed a stable where a small horse was lurking in the corner. Asterix had gone closer, saying something about how the horse was more or less a good size for him, and if Philip had not pulled him back, he would probably have been one finger less right now. But the extremely vile pony did fit Bonny's description, and any doubt he still had was taken away by Philip, who was eager to explain why he has such an ill-behaving horse in his stables. A favor to a very good friend who had come to pass.

According to Philip, he had been more or less able to interact normal with the horse when Phyllis was around, but now he had to watch himself very carefully just to keep her fed and in a clean stable. But to his credit, the stable did look just as clean as the others. Goliath's wounds were caused by kicking the wands of the stable every time someone came close, and from some nervous ticks she was displaying. It was quite unnerving. It also made his plan to simply buy her impossible. It would have been totally unrealistic, and Phillip would have not accept it anyway. The man was really quite shaken by Phyllis 'death'. Asterix made a mental note to tell her about it. He had been on the verge of telling Philip she was alive. It might have made it easier to get Goliath with him. Asterix had no doubt Philip would want to help Phyllis, but he was even more sure Phyllis would not want him to endanger the man. So Asterix told him nothing, and he had returned at night to simply steal Goliath. Well….he had brought the shirt, opened the box, and at first, the skinny horse had just stormed out. He was just about to pursue her with the help of the magic potion, when he had noticed that she had come back, drawn to the piece of scented clothing like a moth to a torch.

It was lucky that the scent in Phyllis clothing was quite strong. A spicy herbal scent, softened by lavender and jasmine. And more faintly, the undertone of leaves and moist ground. She had obviously been camping outdoors for quite some time. He was surprised by how detailed his analysis of the scent was, since he did not have a particular talent for it at all. But it seemed as if the piece of clothing was as intense as the woman that wore it. Maybe it was her magic lingering on them. On a less spiritual note, he had just had three days of nothing else to do than to analyze a smell and walk.

The horse was no company, and Dogmatix was nice as always, but not as cheerful as normal, obviously missing his much larger friend. The animals kind of stuck together. Goliath reserved her bad temper solely for him, she behaved quite normal towards the little dog. It made him feel quite solitaire.

It was good to see the village looking quite normal as they got to the edge of the forest. Smoke was coming from some chimneys. The days were still quite warm, but the nights indicated summer was definitely gone now. There were no guards at the village gates, which did not surprise or worry him. He knew they had been ordered to be on the look from behind the village walls. What he did find strange was that he had not encountered the petite woman that had been the cause of his departure a good week earlier. The note made clear what he was planning. He had expected her to meet them in the forest already. He had no idea what to expect. Would she be happy? Would she be angry over the less than radiant state of her best friend? He had expected her to stop him. Now she didn't, what was he to do? It was probably best to get Goliath inside the village, and have her tended by their druid and others. But he wasn't sure if she would be willing to follow him into the village, with people surrounding her. The horse seemed to loathe anything human.

But Dogmatix had sensed home a while back, increasing his pace as he neared the village, and Goliath had picked up speed as well, seemingly determined to reach the village as well. Once they actually spotted it, they rushed forward, leaving Asterix behind. He could hear Obelix exclaim "Dogmatix!" long before he actually saw him, and he hurried a little, knowing his friend would become worried if he was not with the little dog.

He caught up with Goliath, who had come to halt a good ten meters behind the gates. Obelix was holding Dogmatix, and Asterix was about to walk up to him when Obelix looked behind him. Asterix followed his stare, and to his astonishment, saw Phyllis standing a few meters behind him, seemingly frozen. He quickly looked to the other villagers, with Manilla and Getafix among them. They had come out to greet him, but had stopped in their tracks as well. Manilla looked at Phyllis with more calculation than surprise, but the rest seemed completely surprised at seeing her. She had obviously not introduced herself to anyone but Obelix, whose lack of surprise indicated that he knew she was in the village.

Phyllis herself did not look at anyone. In fact, he was pretty sure she had not seen anyone but the horse next to him. Her expression was hard to read, but she seemed to have difficulty figuring something out. There was no sign of recognition in her eyes, and something else seemed off to him. As he looked back to the small horse, he saw that it was looking at Phyllis as well, not with the usual disdain or antipathy she had reserved for any person they had encountered on their journey. But though she lacked that animosity, she did not step closer, scraping one hoof in a nervous gesture. It was as if the horse did not dare to approach. And when he looked back to Phyllis, he realized what was off. She was gazing, not directly at Goliath, but at a point almost half a meter above her. He even looked to see what she was staring at, but he saw nothing.

Slowly, her shoulders slumped. She seemed to shrink a little, eyes turning deflated. She was turning them from the horse and briefly caught his eye. He realized she was disappointed. An emotion he could not understand at all, since there was not a single doubt that this was Goliath. Or was there? No, there wasn't. He could see the recognition in the horse's gestures, who lowered her head in a gesture of unhappiness as her human friend started to walk away from her. Instinctively, he reached out to touch her neck in a gesture of comfort. Before he touched her, the horses head shot back up again, ears against her head, eyes flashing. She neighed indignantly, clearly warning him not to try to touch her again.

Phyllis had stopped dead in her tracks, turning around sharply and her eyes were back on them, piercing through him, and this time they did show recognition. Recognition, and complete and utter disbelief. She seemed to have trouble focusing, confusion apparent as she approached Goliath cautiously. She stopped about five steps away, seemingly at a loss of what to do next. Asterix had no idea what exactly was going on, but he had a feeling he should not interrupt it, and he stepped back as quietly as he could. Goliath moved forward a little, nostrils wide, looking apprehensive and unsure. She was in touching range of the black haired-girl, whose eyes were still fixed above the horse's head, looking at a point in the air as if hypnotized by it.

Slowly, she extended her hand as if to touch the horse's head, but she only stopped at a point just above Goliath's ears. She frowned as nothing happened, and after a while, she closed her eyes, seemingly concentrating very hard. Then she lowered her hand, making it hover just in front of Goliath's nose. She stood deadly still, but Asterix saw that her hand was trembling. And then, Goliath moved forward just inches, her nose touching the trembling hand.

Asterix could have sworn he actually heard the spell break. A shiver ran over Phyllis as she opened her eyes, locking soft green with warm brown as she focused on her horse's face. And this time, there was recognition and shock on her face. For another few seconds they stood like this, frozen. Then Phyllis moved forward and threw her arms around the horses'neck. And instead of recoiling, instead of putting her ears in her neck, Goliath's ears moved forward, while she lowered her head, rubbing it along the slender back of the young woman that seemed cling onto her for dear life.

Phyllis made no sound or did not move. She had been trembling at first, but this had ebbed away quickly. The only sign of emotion, as Asterix could see when he approached them a little, were the white knuckles of her hands, laced through the black manes that she had captured in her fists. He had to tell her he had given the horse a taste of magic potion, since he could not expect to horse to know how strong it was right now. But his gaze was fixed on her fists, which seemed to become whiter and whiter. It took him a while to realize they were glowing, but as he did, he recognized the faint blue light that Obelix had described. It grew brighter and brighter, and Phyllis stepped away now, her face quite expressionless, but her eyes intense, as she placed her hands on the horses' face. She stared at the damaged skin, the healing cuts, and the tangled fur without surprise, but her hands were glowing with a brightness that made them almost invisible. Yet the blue light was not blinding at all. Slowly she started moving her hands across the horses head. Goliath leant into her touch, as if relishing the stroking hands. For the next ten minutes, Phyllis kept touching Goliath, running her hands over her back and legs, resting longer on the one that had been injured. It had already been healing on their way to the village, but it had still not looked the same as the other hind leg.

The cuts and tangles did not quite disappear, but they seemed to become less sharp. More impressive even was how Goliaths' entire composure changed. The tense muscles in her neck relaxed, her lip slightly lowered, and she almost looked drowsy. Which was no surprise if you counted how she had never once slackened during their trip. Now she seemed relaxed.

Finally Phyllis stepped back to observe her horse once more, her hands still touching the head. Goliath seemed to revive a little. And when Phyllis turned to look at Asterix, he had not time to say anything before Goliath decided to give her a playful nudge, which hit her with the force of a menhir launched by their maker.


	15. Chapter 15

_Property of Goscinny and Uderzo._

_The chapter is rather short, but I have limited time to right, and to make the space between posting not too long, I'll just post something when it seems like a good part to read. Just to keep in touch with my audience ;)._

_P.S. I'm rather jealous of Phyllis in this little part….._

Totally unprepared for the enormous blow she just received, Phyllis soared through the air like a Roman who had just met a Gaul's fist. Instinctively, Asterix broke into a run, but light as she probably was, without the magic potion it would be a painful catch for both of them. And after a few meters he realized he would never make it. But Obelix would. However, Phyllis never landed in his extended arms, cause she suddenly made a sharp turn in the air, and somehow seemed to fix herself there, arms behind her back, as if clinging onto a wall. She looked quite dazed still, but after shaking her head wildly few times, her eyes were sharp as ever as they fixed upon Asterix face.

"What on earth did you….?"

"She was injured, and we could not afford to lose time, so I gave her some magic potion…" He was not about to defend this decision any further."

"How much?"

Asterix glanced at the now empty flask of magic potion. "Well, is she doesn't get any more, it should wear off by the end of today. But the potion does have some minor healing effects…" He glanced at Getafix for confirmation, who shrugged. "It reinforces," their druid said. "The effects are pretty straight-forward if you do not mingle with other potions, or overdose it." He did not throw a glance in Obelix' direction, but the menhir maker still flushed over it. "And it is perfectly safe for animals, even little ones like Dogmatix.

Phyllis was back on the ground now, and she took a quick look at Dogmatix before walking back to Goliath, who seemed startled by the damage her playful nudge had done, shrinking back nervously as her female friend extended a hand at her head. "It's okay," Phyllis said softly, and she leant closer to pet her horse, stroking her quite like before, but without glowing hands this time. Then, she stepped back and all of a sudden broke into a mischievous smile. "Until the end of today you said?", glancing at Asterix, who simply nodded, puzzled about her change of mood. "That would give us a few more hours…" She looked into her horses eyes. "You wanna go for a ride?"

It must have been a familiar question, cause the horse waved her head enthusiastically, before running toward Phyllis, who pulled herself up effortlessly. Her eyes gleaming in anticipation, she took two fistfuls of Goliath's black manes, steadied herself and with a mischievous smile to Asterix she said: "Time to see what that potion can really do."

Bonny took a hesitant step forward: "Phyllis, please don't do anything…". She was cut off as Goliath leapt forward, brushing her shoulders as she started off towards the village gates, sending Bonny into a violent spin. Obelix put out a hand to steady her. "….stupid," she finished, somewhat dazed.

In a matter of seconds, horse and rider were miles away, sprinting forward with lightning speed. Phyllis had to hold Goliath's manes with all her might, she did not even touch the horses' back, swaying in the wind like a flag. Finally she managed to position her knees at Goliath's sides, keeping a rather uncertain balance. They crossed the forest, past the roman camps, and headed for the beach. The moment Goliaths' hooves touched the water, it splashed up all around the, meters high, soaking them in the blink of an eye. As the sped forward, creating walls of water around as they did so, Phyllis mind was a complete blank. The only thing that mattered was to cling on, cause falling would mean nastiness. But she did not feel a glimmer of fear. Nothing mattered, besides clinging onto a long lost friend, and not letting her go. But as Goliath slowed down a little, sliding into a recognizable speed, she let her legs stretch, and positioned herself into the rhythm of the gallop. The all familiar movement hit her hard as they continued to follow the beach. Each time Goliath's hooves left the ground, that sensation of flying. But it was when they touched the ground that Phyllis felt a jolt of joy, for every shock reminded her the moment was real.

She was free of the curse that had separated them. Mesmeron could not touch her now. Her parents were miles away, she had her horse right here, and this time she knew for sure that she would die before she would ever let herself be separated from her again. But if they kept riding, there would be no need. If they just kept following the sea, for days, for weeks, for months, she would find her parents and her sister….maybe even some long lost friends. For the first in years, she was free. The feeling was so overwhelming that she got dizzy, and under the setting sun, she motioned for Goliath to slow down. Sliding off her back, Phyllis let herself hit the sand, completely exhausted. She laid completely still, letting her soaked body get warmed by the remains of the setting sun. Goliath's nose touched her face, and she giggled. This moment was pure bliss. She would gladly have given up pursuing vengeance to make it last.

But things were not that simple. As she pushed herself up, she watched the setting sun, more beautiful than ever and longed to follow it. Across the sea, towards warmer places. Places that she could call home. But no matter how much she felt the south calling her back, she could not leave Armorica right now. Vengeance she could have let slip. But her current bliss would have a price, and she was not the one who would have to pay. It was tempting to walk away, but as impossible as touching the sun. If she left now, Goliath by her side, her horses' eyes would forever reflect the eyes of her savior. And she had not missed the reproaching look that Obelix had tried to hide. He doubted her. He thought she would run off, leaving his best friend in mortal peril. But she would die before she let that happen. And that why she so determinately enjoyed this moment of freedom, soaking it up like a sponge. She had no idea how to survive another battle against the wizard. But this moment he could never take away again. And for this, she felt a gratitude beyond anything she had ever experienced. She had doubted Asterix' motives for finding Goliath. And though her instincts told her he meant only the best, her doubts had never completely vanished. But that moment, when she had told him she was going to check how good the magic potion really was, she had waited a few more moments. He had made no attempt to stop her. Either he had only wanted to set her free, or he trusted her to come back. Both of these reasons made it impossible for her to leave, and they drew her back to the nameless village like a moth to a torch, flirting with her final moments in total fascination for the light.


	16. Chapter 16

_Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo…._

For a long moment after Phyllis and Goliath had soared out of the village, no one said a word. Most villagers were still flabbergasted about how she had stopped herself from plummeting to the ground. Bonny and Manilla were not surprised, but lost in their own thoughts. And Asterix and Obelix had both experiences her strange powers before. Obelix' thoughts were fixed on his best friend, while Asterix was busy trying to think up what they needed to do next.

It was Impedimenta who broke the silence. "Oh my. That didn't look very safe"

"Not for a normal person, it doesn't," her husband answered. "But didn't you see what she just did? She was hovering on thin air for like ten full seconds." He suddenly looked almost greedy. "We can definitely use something like that right now. I sure hope she doesn't give us the slip. With the magic potion in that horse, they could be half across the country before it wears off." He turned to Asterix. "I'm not sure it was wise to let her go off like that."

"She'll be back." Bonny said.

"She'd better be!" Obelix said indignantly.

"I'm not so sure," Manilla countered. "If she would just leave, it could well be Mesmeron would not find out that Asterix worked to break the spell he set over her."

"Well, if he is as interested in Phyllis as you say, he is bound to find out sometime" Getafix said. "But, they will definitely be gone for a while, so why don't we go to your place, Vitalstatistix, so Asterix can tell us about his adventure of the past few days." Vitalstatistix nodded, and Getafix placed a hand on Asterix shoulder, guiding him in the direction of Vitalstatistix' hut.

It did not take Asterix very long to tell them what he did during the days he was gone, since basically everything had been as Manilla had anticipated.

"And what happened here?" Asterix asked. "Close to nothing," Vitalstatistix said. "Which is actually suspicious on its own, since new roman troops arrived just weeks ago? You would expect them to try and attack us at least once." Asterix told them that he had seen Mesmeron in Laudanum and this caused quite a few frowns.

"So do you think she could help us? Will she want to?"

"I don't know" Asterix said truthfully.

"She will," Bonny said, "it would be against her code of honor not to. And she'll want revenge. If you are dead-set on fighting Mesmeron, leaving her out will not even be an option."

"Good," Vitalstatistix said, rubbing his hands.

Bonny did not look remotely as pleased as Vitalstatistix, but Asterix made a mental note of how she had almost compliment Phyllis. Maybe their friendship was not beyond repair.

"So what will we do when she comes back? The forest is no place for a young woman," Impedimenta said. "But I must say the idea of an out of control witch wandering the village unguided does not appeal to me either."

"Well, she sought contact with you Obelix, it seems she has some trust in you." Getafix said.

"Only to know if Asterix was back yet." Obelix countered.

"She could stay with Bonny and Manilla in the hut we gave them," Vitalstatistix offered.

"She won't," they answered in unison. "I mean, not that I don't want her to," Bonny hastily added, "But she will not want to stay with us."

"Well if we need her supervised, Asterix and Obelix are the best to do so," Vitalstatistix said. "If it is okay for you if she stays with you for a while?"

"If no one takes offence in it," he said. He had not looked at Impedimenta, but she knew he was addressing her anyway. "I have misjudged certain situations in the past," she said carefully. "I know you're both trustworthy, but Phyllis may not."

"She won't care," Manilla said. "She's used to roman camps and travelling on her own, so she has a less than developed sense of what is proper and what isn't."

Asterix groaned inwardly. Part of him had hoped that Impedimenta would object, but all of a sudden she had to decide he was "trustworthy". He had a strong suspicion she just wanted to make sure Phyllis was not going to have to stay in her household.

"Fine," he said. "We'd better make some preparations then. "Obelix? Or would you rather stay at your place?" Obelix had been unusually silent, and Asterix assumed he did not like Phyllis very well. He wanted to ask him things about her, but he didn't feel like asking questions with everyone around.

"No, I'll stay with you."

And so they went to Asterix' hut, and placed his parents double bed on the top floor. Asterix had contemplated placing it downstairs, which might have been more comfortable for all of them. But the whole point of Phyllis's staying there was to let her unsupervised, so he decided against it. He felt a little nervous about the whole thing. They were assuming that she would be willing to help, willing to stay in the village, and in his hut. That was a lot. He kept glancing outside to see if she was back. Obelix noticed soon. "Stop it. You won't see her coming anyway." "No…." Obelix had apparently noticed her ability to sneak up on people first hand. "So what do you think about Phyllis?"

Obelix shrugged. "She's strange. Looks a bit unhealthy too. She's bitchy, but not all the time." He hesitated. "I know she is supposed to dislike Bonny and all, and she disappeared whenever she was near, but she doesn't really talk bad about her. Says she's an excellent healer and all. Actually she said nothing negative about her."

Asterix smiled. "Neither does Bonny." Then he frowned: "But I don't think we should expect them to make up anytime soon. They seem very hurt." Obelix did not respond and they were silent for a few minutes. "There was something else," he started, but Asterix had heard some commotion, and was heading for the door. Sure, enough, Goliath and Phyllis were back, Phyllis walking beside her horse, a hand on her neck. Both looked a little tense. It was obvious they were not too happy about being there. He lingered at the door, secretly hoping someone else would address her first. And he was not disappointing, because Vitalstatistix approached Phyllis on his shield.

"I'm Vitalstatistix, chief of this village."

"It shows."

"Yeah, hum, well I'm glad it does. Miss Phyllis, it seems you have experience with a certain wizard who currently has his eyes on our village. Normally we do not like to involve others in our businesses but it seems like we are gonna need all the information we can get."

"IF Mesmeron is interested in your village, or your magic potion, you're going to need a lot more than 'information' to avoid him getting it. The wisest thing to do is to avoid getting him interested in you. Maybe remove certain guests."

Vitalstatistix straightened his back. "We have never refused shelter to those who needed it, and we have never bowed to attempts to siege power of our village. We are not going to start know."

"Yeah, I heard that." She glanced at Asterix, who had joined them now. "Well, I have my own reasons to seek trouble with Mesmeron, so if that's what you're set on doing…"

Manilla had come closer as well: "If Mesmeron realizes he no longer has control over you, he is going to seek revenge."

Phyllis smirked at her: "Can't wait."

"Not on you, but on the person who helped you."

Suddenly Phyllis got a dark look on her face. "If you had been so informative like eight years ago, that would have been news to me. It could actually have made a difference."

"I know you know Mesmeron well, I want to know if you still care about people getting hurt in your process of taking revenge."

There was a tense silence. It was clear that Phyllis was not planning to answer.

Vitalstatistix took charge again: "You are welcome to stay in our village. The woods aren't particularly safe for the moment."

"Neither is this village," Phyllis countered, causing worried glances all around her. She seemed to notice, because she added: "But for the time being you're okay. I've been observing Mesmeron, and whatever he's planning to do, he wants to have full control over the Laudanum legion before he plans a move."

"And how long does that take? Getting full control?" Asterix wondered.

"Depends. For a roman legion to attack a village is normally not that much of a difficulty. If he had chosen to reside in Petibonum, where there are new troops, he would have had less difficulty. But the centurion there is actually quite an experienced diplomat, I have heard about him before. He's not to underestimate, and I guess Mesmeron chose a more gullible centurion, with more knowledge of you village. They're dead-set on not attacking the village tough, so he'll have quite some work to make sure they won't fail him.

Vitalstatistix scratched his head. "I'm not sure I'm entirely with you on that 'control' issue.

"You'll have to be soon. Fighting Mesmeron is impossible if you can't defend against that."

"Can you teach us?" Asterix asked.

Phyllis fixed her green eyes on him, and she took a moment to answer. "I guess. I haven't tried to do so before."

"You taught Bonny."

Phyllis narrowed her eyes. "It didn't exactly work out well."

Bonny flinched.

"And you're not a healer," Manilla added.

"Neither is Mesmeron," Asterix countered. It earned him a smile from Phyllis.

"It will be our best shot," Vitalstatistix decided. "Well it is almost time for dinner, maybe we can start tomorrow?" Phyllis nodded. Vitalstatistix glanced at Asterix, who was suddenly very busy looking the other way. "We set up Manilla and Bonny in a hut nearby…" The look on Phyllis face urged him to stop mid-sentence, "But as you are already acquaintance with Asterix and Obelix, maybe you'd like to stay with them?" He feared another dead look, but Phyllis merely turned away from him.

"I wasn't aware that you lived together?"

"Only occasionally," Asterix answered. "Having weird-eyed witches over is a good occasion," Obelix added. Asterix gave him a reproachful look, and he wondered what Obelix meant by weird-eyed. Phyllis sure had a pretty intensive stare, but her eyes were not thàt unusual. She did not seem to take offense to Obelix. "Cute," was her only comment. "I'm setting Goliath up for the night first."

She walked away, and Asterix was quite surprised about how simply she had agreed with Vitalstatistix' proposition. He felt like she was not a people-person at all. But she had gone to seek out Obelix' company, so maybe he was wrong.

"Phyllis," Manilla suddenly called after her. "Transferring you're healing powers is quite an achievement, but I would not advise you to do this again. They won't work quite as well, and you might lose touch of them if you do it too often." For a moment Phyllis looked quite puzzled. The she seemed to figure out the meaning behind Manilla's words and without a single word of reply, she continued her way.

"What do you mean by her transferring her powers," Asterix asked Manilla.

"Well she hasn't been able to heal for three years, and the moment she touches the horse, her healing powers return. Seems to me she used transferred them to Goliath. Which is not that illogic; she could never use them while attacking Mesmeron, that's why she needed Bonny. And maybe she wanted to protect Goliath better. It could explain how they both survived Mesmerons' attack."

"Goliath did not seem able to heal herself."

"She's a horse, what do you expect? She could never consciously focus that power, but they would come into play in emergency situations."

Asterix felt almost confused over this explanation as Vitalstatistix had been over Phyllis's. They would indeed need time to really understand it. For the time being, he said goodbye to Bonny, and headed for what would without a doubt become an awkward dinner.

_Meant to be longer again, but I find the introduction from Phyllis into the village not so easy to write, so I thought I'd post here and see if it comes off right. Not too weird. More awkwardness ensured in the next chapter. And some action after that __._


	17. Chapter 17

As it turned out, dinner sure was awkward. But Asterix felt himself far too focused on the interaction between Phyllis and Obelix to mind. They didn't get along, but it was difficult to pinpoint why. Sure Phyllis was not a typical young lady, but she behaved rather politely. She didn't get on Asterix' nerves at all that night. Obelix however, seemed to be irritated with her from the start.

Asterix had asked about Goliath, how she had found the horse, and why they got along so well, and Phyllis had been quite willing to tell them. She had been ten when she found the young Goliath, a horse of two years old who had frightened the hell out of the people who owned her. According to Phyllis, she must have belonged to other people even before that, who must have been really cruel to her, causing her not to connect well with people, especially men.

Phyllis had sounded very distant at first, and Asterix felt he had chosen his topic rather poorly. But the story took a more positive tone, and Phyllis turned out to be quite an entertaining storyteller. Obelix was listening closely, not commenting much, if anything. It was only when they started to discuss tomorrow's plans that it became really apparent he was moody.

"So how to learn someone those delusional powers you got?" Asterix asked her, once they had fully finished eating. Bravura had been trying to jump on his lap all that time. And he kept not letting her, in an attempt to learn the puppy some table manners. When he finally sat back to let her, she walked right past him, and settled for Phyllis instead, obviously offended. Phyllis was patting her distractedly, and Asterix was quite surprised of Bravura's friendly reaction to her. But she had been in the village before, and she seemed to be good with animals, so he supposed Bravura had just added her to her limited VIP-list.

"Well for starters, not ALL of Mesmerons' and also my powers are mere illusions. I mean, some of them are rather physical, and the effects of an illusion can also be pretty physic."

"Like how you balanced yourself after being hit Goliath with the magic potion."

"She didn't hit me full force, she merely intended to brush my shoulder. It there had been force behind it, I would have been too dazed to recover like that. But yeah, you can see how that could be an advantage while fighting someone."

Asterix nodded.

"So I think it would be best to start there, leaving the illusions be for a day longer, to see if the magic potion is up against an army of Romans with enhanced abilities. If it isn't, there is no point in starting to break illusions that hold you back from fighting."

Obelix picked up here. "What kind of abilities?"

"Strength, partly. Determination. Lack of fear. And something you could describe as 'playing dirty'. Those are things that Mesmeron believes make a strong opponent. He will never share all of his powers with them, he likes to be superior way too much to do so. But physical abilities are more effective on young soldiers than they are on an old man like him. He is far too important to rush into battle anyway."

"Enhanced or not, a roman army has never been trouble to us." Obelix challenged.

"We'll see about that."

"How exactly did you plan on testing that?" Asterix felt obligated to ask. He wasn't sure how safe Phyllis teaching methods were going to be on the village.

"Well, I'm a pretty good example of what you can expect from a roman soldier under Mesmeron's command. Maybe a little less physically strong, but with a lot more other powers. It's safe to say that when someone under the magic potion can win a fight against me, he'll have no trouble with Mesmeron or any of his soldiers, assuming a one to one fight and setting aside the illusions. But we will tackle those when we get there."

"It's a pretty serious breach of Gallic law to pick a fight against a girl….woman."

She gave him a slight glare and he wasn't too sure whether it was because of calling her a girl or thinking it improper to fight her. She obviously didn't like being belittled.

"Call it a training, or a test. But if we want to know where we stand, it will be a fight. No one holding back. The only difference will be stopping before someone gets killed."

Asterix did not answer but his dislike of the idea must have been clear, because she added: "Look I value Gallic laws, and personally I like to respect them as much as possible, but not when it endangers others. Plus, you might find dealing me a blow is not that easy to begin with."

Obelix snorted; "We saw that." Phyllis looked mildly irritated "Since you seem stronger than the rest of the villagers, even when under the effects of the magic potion, maybe you're best for this little try-out," she said to him. And to Asterix: "I know you're the main warrior of the village, but I'll think it will be easier for Obelix to not hold back against me."

"Surprisingly easy" Obelix said. "I can hardly wait."

"Fine. That's settled then."

"Asterix, I'm taking my dog for a walk right now. Would you like me to take yours too?" Obelix said, standing up.

"She seems pretty comfortable Obelix," he answered; too put off by his friends' strict tone to point out Bravura was not his dog. Oficially.

"Okay then." Obelix walked out without even glancing at Phyllis, who seemed equally unfazed by his rude behavior. Still, Asterix felt the urge to defend Obelix. "He's not usually this unfriendly. I guess he's just …." he trailed off, not really knowing the cause for Obelix being he was tonight.

"….Tense." Phyllis finished for him. "He wants to know what he's up against more than to respect laws. I can understand. No to worry about that."

It made sense. Asterix was pretty sure she was right. But it changed Obelix into someone he was not, and Asterix didn't like that. It was hard not to see the likeness in his behavior with the woman in front of him, who was certainly happy to have her horse back, but who he certainly would not qualify as happy in general. When she was talking about her past, she seemed to be talking about someone else, who no longer existed. She had survived battling Mesmeron this long, but it had no doubt changed her. He saw glimpses of a different, more open and friendly person now and then, but they lasted so short that he doubted she would ever completely return.

Phyllis had gotten up to collect the dishes, and they worked on them in near silence.

"Bravura seems fond of you," Asterix said to lighten the mood. "She's a tough little puppy." Phyllis said, somewhat affectionately. "Quite a fitting name you gave her too" "Obelix named her," Asterix murmured. He was not planning on telling her the whole story behind that. He considered the real Bravura a friend, yes, but it was not a very comfortable friendship, and it reminded him that he had once had no trouble casting aside Gallic laws either. He was sure that Phyllis would not mind pointing out that enormous irritation was a lot less of a good reason to do so than mortal peril.

Obelix was gone for quite some time, it was pitch-dark by the time he returned, and Asterix felt seriously tired, having not slept all that much while he was away. He showed Phyllis the top-floor. She eyed the double bed with suspicion as he pointed out it was hers. It was easily the most awkward moment of the evening "Who normally sleeps there?" she asked. "No one. I mean, It's my parents' old bed, but they moved to Condatum. They visited just a while ago, so we restored it a little."

Phyllis nodded. "Okay…..Well, I'm going to get changed then," she announced. "Feel free too….." she stopped when she noticed that Asterix was already well out of sight. Smiling, she shook her head. She was used to having to make firm demands for her privacy. It was nice not having to do so for a change. She lit a candle, pulled some nightwear from the sack that contained her belongings, and settled on the bed with one of her father's medicine books. She had hidden the small knives she carried around her middle under the blankets, not wanting to be insulting or threatening. It was just a habit she had been forced to pick up in the past, and she was not going to let it go with Mesmeron on their necks. She called down that she was ready, and Obelix and Asterix appeared moments later. They exchanged goodnights and soon the room was completely silent.

Despite the strange company in his house, Asterix was asleep quite fast. But he slept lighter than usual and woke up a few hours later. A glance to his parents' bed told him it was empty. He kept staring at it for a few more moments, hoping against hope that Phyllis would spontaneously reappear. Of course he was not that lucky. "Great," he thought, "so much for keeping an eye on things." And he got up quietly, trying not to wake Obelix as he crossed his hut. But Obelix was already awake, murmuring "She's been away for hours, you know."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"She's probably checking up on her horse."

That made sense. But he needed to be sure. So he went down, and headed for the stables. Sure enough, Phyllis and Goliath were there, both fast asleep, Phyllis lying rolled up, as close as possible to Goliath. She seemed a bit cold. He went back to fetch a blanket, and Goliath was awake when he returned, but she didn't move as he placed the blanket over Phyllis. Apparently he was entitled to a truce as long as Phyllis was around.

He should have known that she would want to be close to Goliath, she had not seen the horse for years. But she also could have told him. Getting her to open up was not going to be easy. He did not know about evading illusions, dark powers and healing powers, but he did know a thing or two about battles, and trusting your allies was as important as arms and physical strength. There was a lot of work to be done on that department before they would stand a chance.

He moved back up quietly, as not to wake Obelix in case he had fallen asleep again. But his large friend was wide awake, which was highly unusual.

"So was she?" he asked.

"Was she what?" Asterix replied.

"With Goliath?'

"Yeah. Should have seen that coming shouldn't I? I mean, it must be really uncomfortable staying here, and she hasn't seen her horse for years."

"I don't think she looked uncomfortable. She made herself right at home."

They stayed silent for some time. Asterix was thinking about tomorrow. Yes, he was curious to discover more about what they could expect from Mesmeron, but he knew better than anyone just how strong Obelix really was. It would take something truly…mortal to stop him.

"You really don't mind?" he asked. "I mean, getting into a fight with Phyllis?"

"No."

When Asterix did not reply, Obelix tried to explain. "I want to know what you…what we're up against. I mean, what if the magic potion can't beat it?"

"We have more than the magic potion Obelix. We have ourselves, two expert healers and a dark witch at our side. We'll figure things out."

They were silent again, while Obelix wondered whether he could tell Asterix what else was bothering him. He felt that it was a secret. But then again, Phyllis had never asked him to keep quiet about it, and even if she had done so, Asterix really was entitled to know.

"Phyllis did not transfer her healing powers to her horse. At least, certainly not all of them."

This caught Asterix' attention immediately. "What makes you say that?"

"She healed Bravura while you where away."

"But I thought Bonny…."

"She started limping again. And Phyllis removed a rose thorn, and then she held her hands over her paw, and they glowed blue just like they did when she was patting Goliath. But that was before her horse was back." He paused a little. "So why didn't she say Manilla was wrong?"

"Well that explains why she looked so surprised. I think maybe Phyllis did not even know it was possible to transfer powers. In that case, Manilla probably gave her an idea instead of keeping her from doing it again."

"Great," Obelix commented, sounding a bit sarcastic.

"Obelix, why are you so angry with her? I admit she's not the friendliest girl in the world but you have to realize she went through a hard time. And she was pretty civil today. Having her around is not nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it would be."

"She's not around, she's sleeping in the stables. Was she sleeping?"

"Yes…"

"Good, she needs to if she wants to stand a chance tomorrow."

"Obelix…."

"She didn't even thank you!" Obelix exclaimed, sounding extremely indignant. "Doesn't that bother you?"

I hadn't bothered him at all, but Obelix seemed to think Phyllis was really ungrateful.

"She has been through a lot."

"You said that already. That's no excuse."

"Maybe not, but still, how can you think she's ungrateful? She could have run off today, gone home to her family. She kept you company, she healed Bravura. And everyone describes her as a secretive, lonely plotter, but she told us ten times more about how to defeat Mesmeron than Manilla already. I think that's worth a lot more than a simple thank you."

"I know…..I know….I try my best Asterix, but I just hate this adventure. It already went wrong before."

"It's going to be different now. Phyllis has always had to do everything in secret, and because of that, mostly alone. She's probably so used to not telling things, working on her own that it has become a habit. When we act like we don't trust her that will never change."

"…I guess you're right. But I'm not sure I really do trust her. I mean, she was acting pretty normal tonight, but before…"

"Yeah those powers of hers are rather creepy. But you just need to remind yourself why she picked them up."

"I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask."

"It's good to have you back, Asterix."

"Well, I'm glad I'm back too. It was nice to have Dogmatix, but travelling without you is really boring. Not to mention I forgot to have lunch twice…"

"What? No wonder you look so skinny! And on top of that, you fed all of the magic potion to a horse! What a terrible waste."

"She was hurt."

"You could have carried her home if you had drunk it yourself."

"Now that wouldn't have caught attention," Asterix said, rolling his eyes.

They were both imagining it for a moment, and suddenly burst out laughing. It broke the tension and after chatting for a while more, they both fell asleep, all thoughts of witchcrafts and wizardry not forgotten, but effectively silenced for the benefit of sweeter dreams.


	18. Chapter 18

_Nope, still not my characters, not counting Phyllis and co._

The next morning, Asterix and Obelix woke with the delicious smell of eggs and bacon tickling their noses. As usual, Obelix needed some more time to get out of his 'snooze mode', so Asterix was down first, walking over to the fireplace were Phyllis seemed to be preparing breakfast for all of them.

"You didn't need to get up for that. You could probably use some extra sleep."

"It's not that early," Phyllis replied, pointing to the door. It was true, the sun was already high in the sky. "Besides, Bonny woke me up. She never sleeps past sunrise. It has also never failed to annoy me."

Bonny woke her up. So she had known Phyllis would move to the stables during the night. Asterix spotted the blanket, lying neatly folded in a corner. He started setting the table."Why did she wake you?" He thought it was not very sensible of her to do so, Phyllis had looked quite tired yesterday. She looked better now, though there were still slight shadows under her eyes.

"She's worried about my teaching methods…I told her I was not going to teach anything today, that it would be more like a test, but that didn't seem to get her at ease very much."

Asterix thought that is was not a particularly reassuring statement and he could feel why Bonny was not at ease, but he didn't voice those thoughts.

Obelix appeared the moment the food hit the plates, his timing perfect as always when food was concerned. They didn't talk much through breakfast, and Asterix noticed that Phyllis ate a lot more than she had done yesterday. She did not seem nervous at all. Obelix on the other hand, was not up to his usual appetite, and Phyllis did not hesitate to comment on it. "Have some more, you need to be full-strength." "I really doubt that, that will be necessary" Obelix replied, but he did take some more food. He stared at Phyllis, whose attention had already turned to Dogmatix. She tried to feed him some bacon, and after some hesitation, he accepted the treat. Again Asterix noticed that her entire demeanor could change in a matter of seconds, especially when animals where concerned. It made him feel that her distant and at times slightly aggressive behavior was probably a mask, one that could be lifted if they made some effort to make her feel at home.

After breakfast they went to Obelix' quarry, which seemed like the safest spot for a 'power test', as Phyllis kept calling it. People gathered to watch, most at a safe distance, but Asterix and Getafix rather close. He wanted to be able to interfere if things got out of hand. Phyllis and Obelix stood face to face, about 15 meters be apart. Phyllis was dressed in black, with tight pants that reached halfway her calves, simple black shoes, and a black vest with long sleeves that widened towards her hands. Her hear was bound together in a loose braid, revealing her small face. She looked like one of the least impressive opponents Obelix had ever faced, and it was clear Obelix had some second thoughts about the whole idea. He glanced at Asterix every few seconds, not knowing what to do next. Finally Phyllis cleared her throat.

"Right, Mesmeron will never approach you this closely…in a fighting situation," she added when she noticed Asterix was about to protest, "But his minions will. So that's the situation you're facing now. I suggest some form of attack."

"Will those minions not attack me first? Like the normal Romans?" Vitalstatistix had approached Asterix, now whispering in his ear: "Right, because Obelix always waits for normal Romans to attack him first…" Despite the tense situation, Asterix snickered a little. Meanwhile, Phyllis rolled her eyes at both Obelix and Asterix. "If you wish," she said, and she broke into a slow run towards Obelix, one hand stretched in his direction. Obelix watched her approach, quite immobile, and Asterix watched his large friend in anticipation. He did not notice Phyllis' hand suddenly switching direction, pointing right at him. She made a small, quick pulling movement, and a powerful gush of wind hit the back of Asterix knees, making him topple over. It did not hurt, but Obelix stared at him in shock

Phyllis had stopped running. "Poof. I just took down your friend." She narrowed her eyes, "And you did absolutely nothing," she hissed.

It wasn't fair, Asterix thought. As if he would have been casually watching if it had been a real fight. But when he tried to interfere, Phyllis snapped her hand at him and threw him a very warning look.

Obelix looked completely crestfallen for a moment, but it did not last. He soon became furious, partly at himself, partly at the girl in front of him, at which he launched the menhir he had put down moments before. She leapt sidewards, dodging the menhir without much effort, and threw a satisfied smirk in Asterix' direction as she did so. She had managed to tick off Obelix enough to make him ditch courtesies. To make sure he would not regain his calm, she pointed her hand at Dogmatix, causing Obelix to jump at her, and she just nearly avoided his fist. It continued like this for a few moments, with Phyllis pointing her hand at bystanders, or pulling his braids, and Obelix who tried to punch her. She kept dodging him. It was a bit dizzying. Phyllis never tried to actually hit Obelix. Was she aware she could not do him much damage that way?

Soon, Obelix realized that this was not working. And he was furious over her threat to attack little Dogmatix, not to mention Asterix. "Let's see how she feels when it's done to her…" he thought, picking up a small rock, and launching it at Goliath. He made sure it would fly over the horse's head, not hitting her. But the rock never made it to the horse, because it hit an invisible wall, meters before it could pass Goliath. Even so, the horse jumped up a little. He turned back to face Phyllis, whose hand was still outstretched in the direction of the invisible wall. She looked livid. Did he imagine it, or had her eyes darkened a few shades? He had no time to think about it, because she leapt forward, kicking him in the chest. He stumbled back a little, not hurt, but astonished at the force behind her kick. Phyllis eyed him darkly.

It was clear that she could not do him harm empty-handed. Minions would have arms, and she was very tempted to use some right now. But she knew Asterix would meddle if she did. "If I give him time to do so," she added mentally, thinking forward already. She disappeared from sight, reappeared behind Obelix and slashed a just of wind at his knees, much like she did with Asterix, but more powerful. Obelix toppled over, but was back on his feet in an instant.

"You said no illusions!" he yelled at her. He hated foul play.

"I'm not playing your mind, just your sight. It's something Mesmerons' may be able to do as well. And it's not like there will be only on of them. They will not blow you over, but they'll have arms. I'm just making it realistic"

The relaunched in a game of near hits and dodges, which was pointing nowhere. Obelix suddenly got an idea. He glanced sidewards for a moment, raising his eyebrows. Phyllis followed his gaze and stood still long enough for Obelix to punch her shoulder, not full force, but enough to make her fly back and hit one of the village trees so hard it shook, leaves and branches falling down on top of her. She did not move. Obelix started to fear he had overdone it, and slowly walked towards her, losing his guard. The next moment he heard a swishing sound cutting the air, and he felt a sharp pain in his right arm. Blood erupted, sliding down his hand and dripping to the ground. There was a collective gasp from everybody around.

Asterix had seen the malicious glint in Phyllis eyes a second before the small knife cut Obelix arm. He had opened his mouth to warn his friend, but it was too late. Bonny had jumped forward, running towards Obelix, only to smack into thin air, hitting another invisible wall. She did not fall down, but stared at her former friend with something that looked close to rage. However her eyes soon softened and she backed down, if only slightly.

Obelix clutched his arm in disbelief. Phyllis got up, staggering slightly. But she looked unharmed. "No time for mercy when you're fighting Mesmeron, Obelix. If you manage to hit him or his minions once, you don't go looking after him, you hit again. Or deal with the consequences. Which will not be as innocent as they are now."

Asterix had to rethink his earlier assessment of Phyllis. With his mind, he realized how she could probably have hit Obelix worse than this. But how much did it really mean that she didn't? She could not afford to have Obelix seriously injured. And she could just as well have thrown that knife without actually harming him. The point would have been clear either way. The nasty strike was not a mask, it was part of her. It was clear from her glinting eyes that she enjoyed to fight, enjoyed the power she had. Manilla said it was difficult to control these powers, but Phyllis was not struggling with them. She relished them.

Was the fight over? If she had meant to scrape Obelix' arm with the knife, she could as well have thrown it at his heart. Phyllis obviously agreed: "I could have made this a poison tipped knife, I could have aimed for your heart, this fight could have been over. But I don't think you hit me as hard as you could have, so maybe  I would not have been able to throw it anymore. One more round?"

Asterix fully expected Obelix to call it a day; this fight was not going to end well if it would last longer. But Obelix just nodded. Later he would explain to Asterix that he had needed to know he could win.

"Ok." Phyllis seemed to think for a moment. "If I can stab your chest, with my hand" she said, eyeing the others, "I win, assuming I have some kind or arm in my hand". If you can hit my head, you win, assuming that a full force blow from you will knock me out completely"

"No need to assume," Asterix thought to himself, "it will." He had experienced amnesia from less than full force.

They started again, a little more careful this time. Not out of regard for the other, but because they had both gotten a good taste of the other ones' power. And because they now had a specific target.

It took another five minutes before Phyllis was the first to nearly reach her goal, diving for one of Obelix' punches, and getting back up so fast she nearly touched his chest, but he retreated and she missed it by no more than a centimeter. Asterix had to give it to his best friend. For someone who had never needed to avoid anything, he learned really quick. The magic potion still him quicker than Phyllis, but she seemed to be able to anticipate Obelix' every move. She was slowly losing this advantage though, and suddenly, while she was spinning on one foot to get away from Obelix as he neared her, his fingers got hold of one of her sleeves. Tugging at it with his fingertips, he got hold of a fistful of black fabric, and he lifted Phyllis up. Her eyes widened as she realized she was caught. Obelix held her still for a moment, and then with a giant swing, flung her right into sky.

Any other person would have screamed if they were launched like that, but Phyllis made no sound as she soared through the air, thinking that this move did not really take her out. Ok, it would, if you had no way to land safely….So maybe Obelix had won. She decided that he had, but it would not hurt to make one last point. She started to fall down, which was quite an uncomfortable sensation, and she regretted her rather voluminous breakfast. Obelix was apparently preparing to catch her. She rolled her eyes. He needed to learn…

She got sight of his menhirs. With a pressing gesture, she made six of them fly upwards, using the same movement to slow her fall. She grinned as Obelix completely forgot her, running to catch the menhirs before they plummeted into the alarmed audience. Good. They also needed to learn to be on their guard. She fell the last three meters, having lost concentration while watching Obelix. So instead of landing next to Asterix like she had planned, she plummeted to the ground. He had made no move to catch her. Fast learner. His blue eyes were now fixed on her. She could tell he was not pleased, but he still offered a hand to help her up, which she accepted. He turned to see if the menhirs were all safe back on the ground. Obelix was balancing the lot of them on his hand, like a giant menhir pyramid.

"What are those things for anyway?" Phyllis asked airily. Asterix flinched, fully prepared to give her a piece of his mind about her teaching methods, but the words died in his throat as he caught sight of her. She had looked fine the entire battle, but now she looked as beaten up as any Roman after meeting Obelix. Her lower lip was split, no longer bleeding, but quite swollen. Her right eye was turning purple, and she had an ugly bump on her forehead. The sleeve that Obelix had gripped was torn of, and she was supporting her right shoulder with her left hand.

"What?" she snapped. "I cannot heal and fight at the same time very well. Besides, Mesmeron or his troops will not be able to do so either."

"But you looked fine moments ago!" "Yeah, well, so I used a little illusion. It did not influence the fight. Looking like this would have make Obelix drop out immediately. He's had a harder time putting Gallic courtesy aside than he wants to show for."

Asterix had already realized that, but he was surprised Phyllis noticed it too. She behaved like she had not the slightest clue of conventions and other people's feelings. Apparently she did notice them though. Obelix neared them, and Asterix instinctively stepped before Phyllis to hide her from his best friends' view. He would feel awful when he saw her like that. Obelix himself looked fine, but he also held his arm, which was still bleeding rather profusely.

"Seems you won," Phyllis piped up from behind Asterix. She looked fine again, and she seemed quite happy to admit defeat. "If you had smacked me to the ground instead of thrown me upwards, I would at the very least have been unconscious. I'm not ungrateful that you didn't, I guess…just keep in mind not to throw people away in a real battle against Mesmeron. You never know how well they will land…."

She turned to Vitalstatistix. "Well if the magic potion can hold me down, it will do its job. Assuming that the fighting skills of the rest of you men are comparable to that of Obelix". Asterix saw how that last comment raised a lot of insecurity among his friends.

"Of course, Mesmerons' most powerful weapon is in his mind games. The healers (she pointed at Manilla and Bonny) can help to protect from them, but that means they will have to shield you from the fight completely. You can never win that way, so you need to be able to resist at least part of his power by yourself."

"It is possible to learn?" Vitalstatistix wondered. "It is. I think dealing with Mesmeron himself should be my part, but that does not mean he will not try to attack your men." She glanced at Asterix.

"Let's get started then," Vitalstatistix said. But Getafix stepped in, placing a firm hand on Phyllis shoulder, making her cringe a little. "That will have to wait until tomorrow, Vitalstatistix, Obelix and Phyllis need to recover first. We can't foresee when the first attack will be, so they should be up for a fight if it comes sooner than expected."

Bonny had moved towards Obelix. "I can heal that arm, but it needs cleaning first." She led him away. "I'm not getting healed by Manilla, I can do it myself" Phyllis hissed at Getafix. "You need to spare your powers," He replied, not leaving room for discussion. "You will be healed by me,"  he added, just a tiny bit smugly. He looked over his shoulder. "Are you coming, Asterix? I'm taking Miss Phyllis to my hut." Asterix had barely had a chance to talk to Getafix without Manilla around, so he accepted the opportunity with both hands.

Getafix applied some cloths with creamy substance to Phyllis's face, while examining her arm.

"It will be sore tomorrow…." He said thoughtfully. "It' sore already...no need to wait till tomorrow." Phyllis informed him. "But nothing is broken, just strained muscles," Getafix went on, unfazed, "So this should help…." He gave her a steaming mug, which she eyed rather suspiciously.

"It's not that potion you used on the Roman at Melodramas' and Histrionix' village, is it?" Asterix wondered. "Cause if I remember well, it caused memory loss." Phyllis put the cup down at once, and Getafix gave Asterix a somewhat reproachful look. "No it isn't. We would not want have to go through today's events again. It's a simple herbal mixture, though not unpowerful." Phyllis sniffed the cup again, a few times, and seemed to judge it safe to drink, because she started taking small sips.

"I have never seen anyone hold out so long against the magic potion. You truly possess some amazing powers, young lady," Getafix said lightly.

"I'm fairly quick myself, but I learned to use my mental powers to improve certain physical abilities. It is not as easy as taking a potion though, if I lose focus, I get in trouble. And even with full focus, I could not approach Obelix' strength…."

"But the menhirs…." Asterix started "Yeah, that was a once in a day kind of trick….I can't do it twice, it takes a lot of energy…."

She did look tired. Asterix was relieved to see that her face looked a lot better already. Maybe Obelix wouldn't notice. He was not for deceiving his best friend, but Phyllis snide remarks had already put Obelix in a sort of insecure mood, and he did not want to make it worse either.

"Obelix would never have hesitated to attack if I had really been in danger," he said.

"If you say so."

"And it's not like I'm defenseless myself, I can take care of myself."

"….What's your point?"

What did he want to say really? "I'm not sure I'm really into your teaching methods. I mean, you want to check if we stand a chance against Mesmeron, and maybe you've convinced yourself, but I think this little test had the opposite effect for the rest of us. I mean, there is no need to insist on the consequences that a mistake will cause...just focus on what to do to win the battle, rather than trying to frighten people. Fear does not help in battle."

"It helps to tweak you survivor instincts, which I suspect are rather undeveloped if you guys never had trouble winning before. You don't like my teaching methods? I'm just giving you a controlled view of what fighting Mesmeron is like. He's not a straight-forward, honest and easily predictable enemy. So acting like a straight-forward, honest and predictable opponent will cause you to lose. Obelix learnt that today. If you couldn't see that, then maybe you're not the clever one of the pair after all."

Asterix had to bite his tongue to keep his calm. "you won't make much friends acting like that," he said, trying to tackle the subject of her uncharming behavior another way.

"I do not need any friends."

Asterix looked at her intently, and she caught his gaze. She realized she sounded a bit like an angry teenager, but a bad hormonal mixture had nothing to do with her last statement.

"Not before Mesmeron is gone. He has the habit of taking down my friends."

He had wanted to retort, but he had nothing to say to counter that. Getafix had observed their argument in silence. No he handed Phyllis some new cloths. "Take these with you, and apply them again in about an hour. The worst signs of your injuries should be gone by tomorrow."

"Thanks," she replied, getting up. "I'm going to have dinner at your chief's place this evening, and after that I'm heading for the stables. I can really use my sleep if I need to create illusions tomorrow." She left without any official goodbye.

"That was a smooth conversation you had back there, Asterix," Getafix said, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"It's like talking to a wall. A very talkative wall."

"Don't worry about that. It just takes time to seep in. I think she will take you comments into consideration…eventually."

"I just hope she does before the entire village sees her as a threat worse than what she is protecting us from…"


	19. Chapter 19

_All characters, except the OC's are property of Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo._

_I rushed to get this posted before leaving to Germany until the end of the week. So I hope there are not too many errors. Also I hope I am not making mistakes versus what happened in earlier chapters. I just lack the time to study the previous chapters when I start a next one…_

Obelix injury was nearly invisible by the time Asterix got to him. Obelix resentment for Bonny still lingered slightly, but he could not deny that her healing abilities were amazing. Together with his new knowledge about both Phyllis' spiky character and the powers that she shared with Mesmeron, he felt it became hard to hold things against Bonny. Phyllis was not an easy person to be friends with

"She shouldn't have done that," Bonny said indignantly, staring at the faint scar on Obelix' arm.

"She shouldn't have," Asterix agreed.

Obelix had other things on his mind. "I don't know, don't you think she went easy on me?" Asterix looked at him incredulously. "Why, because she did not actually try to kill you? You won fair and square, Obelix, you did also hold back enough not to injure her seriously…."

"Was she injured?" Obelix asked worriedly.

"Just a bit of a sore arm…much like you," Asterix said quickly. "Getafix tended to her, she's fine."

"She went out of line!" Bonny said. "Did you see how your fellow villagers looked at her? She's terrifying them….just like before. Those powers may help her to fight Mesmeron, but they alter her personality. People sense that. They don't trust her, and therefore she ends up alone."

"Do you trust her?" Asterix asked, suddenly very curious about the answer. He was sure that they would not stand much of a chance if Bonny and Phyllis did not work out their problems. Manilla was a different matter, she had more distance from the situation. But Phyllis and Bonny suffered over their ruined friendship, and he could not see it turn out well.

"I love her…but I don't know if I trust her." Bonny hesitated. "Maybe I'm overestimating the influence of those 'dark' powers because I have seen the damage Mesmeron did with them. I hate to see how they intensify her mood-swings, but to tell you the truth, she was always pretty intense."

She turned towards them. "Only when we were younger, it was not bad, it was fun. I mean, she could be so cheery that you just danced along, and when she felt injustice, she was always the first to take action. She was a bit fierce, but it was never out of control….generally I just felt good around her. She could take interest in everyone and everything, she was not prejudiced. Sometimes, when something really gripped her, she acted almost obsessively, but she snapped right out when you needed her….I would have trusted her with everything. But now, I don't know…she's different."

"At first I thought it was all an act, a shield." Asterix said. "But now you're not that sure?" Bonny asked. "I don't know either. But I know something else. The way she acts towards you is the friendliest she's been with anyone for a long, long time. You have reached out to her, and I can tell it means a lot to her. I do trust that she will do everything in her might to protect you. I just don't know if that extends to the rest of us."

It seemed a little odd to Asterix, that Phyllis had been invited for dinner at Vitalstatistix'. Impedimenta had been quite wary of Phyllis the day before, but when he inquired with Vitalstatistix as to how his wife felt about Phyllis's visit, he learned that Impedimenta had been the one to invite her in the first place. When Asterix questioned this, Vitalstatistix shrugged it off: "Women. No use trying to keep track with them."

Later that evening, while Obelix and Asterix were playing dice, Vitalstatistix came by, looking quite disgruntled.

"Trouble?" Asterix enquired, while he got to offer his boss some drink. "Depends on what you define as trouble," Vitalstatistix replied. Asterix raised an eyebrow. "They chucked me out! No, what am I saying, Impedimenta let me do the dishes and THEN she chucked me out. Women's business she said."

"Well..." Asterix had no idea what to say to that. He was glad that Phyllis had not completely freaked out the entire village after all. But again, this was in contradiction to what her rant about not needing friends "… better let them be at ease for a while then," he finally said "A beer chief?"

The next morning, quite a few villagers were gathered in Vitalstatistix' hut, since Phyllis had announced to Vitalstatistix that she wanted to try out with everyone who would be likely to fight. So Fulliautomatix, Unhygienix and Geriatrix were there, their bard and quite a few other men. Quite a few women too. Asterix was not surprised. For one thing, Phyllis no doubt made them curious, a small girl, barely a woman, that had given Obelix quite some trouble just the other day. And secondly, they were faced with a serious threat. If the women usually didn't join in on their fights, it was because victory came easy with the magic potion. However, with their men now facing real danger, they were bound to join. None of his fellow villagers were the type to watch and wait. Eventually Vitalstatistix decided his home was crowded enough, and demanded for the rest to come back later.

"Asterix, have you seen Phyllis?" Obelix asked, his eyes darting around the room. He knew now to expect the unexpected from her. "No I ...haven't" Asterix replied, and the hesitation in his voice made Obelix follow his gaze towards the door. Immediately his question was answered, since Phyllis was just walking in.

Asterix knew it was Phyllis, but yet, she looked nothing like the scrawny, pale girl he had seen yesterday.

For one thing her hair was loose, but shiny and wavy rather than tangled like it had been in the forest. It was obvious what they had chucked Vitalstatistix out for yesterday. The sides were combed back a little, and they were put together at the back of her head with a hair pin. She wore light green, elegant looking dress, somewhat in between a roman and gaulic design, and it fit her so well it had to be her own. And her skin had a healthy glow. Suddenly, there was nothing girly about her, as she looked down on him with a somewhat mischievous smile. There was a golden sparkle in her eyes.

Wait.

She looked down on him? Phyllis was not taller than him, he was completely sure of that, he had stood next to her often enough and he had always looked right into her eyes. He stared at her feet, and saw simple green shoes. He glanced back up, and this time her eyes leveled his own, and her skin looked a tad paler than before. But she still had the same sparkle in her eyes, a slight blush, and she wore the same green dress...

"Oh yeah, the dress is real all right, it won't vanish." He started to flush a little, but there was no malice in her words, her smile had only widened now Asterix was no longer staring at a point on top of her head. "You saw through that quickly. Not that this is the real work, but illusions usually come in attractive packages at first, so if I thought to create that atmosphere a little."

"It was not so difficult; I know we're about the same height,"Asterix said.

"So does Impedimenta. And Obelix knows I don't tower over you normally either. But they don't seem to remember that right now."

She was right. Obelix' and Impedimenta's eyes were fixed on a point on top of her head, and they, together with the others, were gaping at her. Some even with a slightly love-sick face. To Asterix' immense relief, Obelix was not one of them.

"Now, after yesterday, wouldn't you expect I'd have trouble finding volunteers for my next "lesson"?" Phyllis asked. She raised her voice a little: "Well people, who's willing to demonstrate a few mind-control effects with me?"

Nearly everyone raised his or her hand. Only Obelix, Getafix, Manilla and Bonny stayed immobile. And Asterix, Phyllis noted as she looked sideward. "Are you not volunteering, Asterix?" she asked, with a little pout. "I don't see the need, when you announced you were going to try out the effects on all of us," he countered, a bit agitated. She was making this into a little too much of a joke for his liking.

"Always the clever one, aren't you," Phyllis replied automatically. Her attention was drifting a little though, since there wàs a point to what she was doing. Her appearance was a partial illusion, strengthened with some acting, and it was not only meant to set the mood. It was a way of testing who was sensible to the illusions and who was not. She had not expected Obelix to forget their fight overnight. Well, he could have, but he was set on protecting his best friend, and that made him attentive. He was still not staring at her face though.

Getafix, Manilla and Bonny didn't surprise her either...they had seen right through the illusion. She knew it took all her power to have some effect on Bonny, and she was only using a part of them right now. From Manilla she had not expected less, but Getafix reassured her. She had gained respect for him when he had treated her without questions, and it also helped that his cures had worked excellently. But since she was not too willing to rely on those three too much, she had work to do with the others.

"Good to see you are all willing to work with me," she said. "However, since I'm representing your enemy, the real challenge will be to work àgainst me. We'll start with a simple thing. I'm going to give an order, and you have to NOT follow it up. Pretend I'm Julius Caesar, if it helps, or your wife. Whatever works best. Your will is the only weapon you have against these kind of orders. I can give you more tips later, but they'll all go back to the strength of you own mind."

"A harmless order will do Phyllis," Manilla warned.

Phyllis threw her a sickingly sweet smile. "Harmless it is. Asterix, could you go and stand next to Obelix? The others are looking at me, I can judge the effects better if you do too."

Asterix moved and seconds after he turned, he saw the golden sparkle in her eyes intensify. He just had the time to wonder if this was a signal that could indicate someone about to plant an illusion over you, when Phyllis spoke again:

"Ok, here comes the order: sit down."

There was a rustling noise as the bunch of people sat down, with different levels of hesitation. Only Manilla and Getafix remained unfazed, and Bonny stayed on her feet as well, although she staggered slightly. But then her eyes hardened, and she straightened up.

Asterix was already halfway down before he realized he did not want to sit down. He quickly placed his hands to prevent being totally seated, and stopped in an uncomfortably crouched position. He cursed under his breath. There was nothing sneaky about Phyllis' approach this time. She had even clearly stated that this was the order they weren't supposed to follow up, but his mind seemed not to have registered that. It was a strange sensation. He thought he would have to fight his own body disobeying him, but it was not quite like that. He had to fight the strange conviction that it was better to be seated. Even as he thought it, he lowered himself closer to the ground, and he had to fight the impulse to let the pressure on his arms drop.

Phyllis had her eyes on him now, for the others seemed to have made their decision about sitting or staying up. She saw him struggle to steady himself, and he did. As he looked up, he saw her eyes sparkle gold as she repeated: "sit down, Asterix."

It was impossible not to listen, and impossible to do so at the same time. Two voices in his head were fighting for dominance, and his body was cramping over which one to obey. There was no danger in sitting down, but if he did he had no chance to make it through this adventure. He started to push himself up, sweat drops appearing on his forehead. To put his weight back on his legs seemed impossible, he was afraid to drop to the ground if he tried.

"Asterix…" Phyllis voice sounded different this time, and as he looked, he saw that one of her eyes was its normal light green again, while the other still sparkled. She extended one hand, which he took hesitantly. It was another sign of how split her mind really was, if she could help and work against him at the same time. She gave a light pull and he was back on his feet. Phyllis smiled.

"Good, good, not bad for a first try. You all hesitated. Many people don't even do so."

Asterix looked around, and saw that the rest of the villagers reflected his own discouraged mood.

"The first time is the hardest, because you have never felt it before. Well, you have, everyone has been manipulated before. But not quite like this. Now, you have no doubt realized that it is in your head you will have to win this battle. So let me give you a few examples of situations in which it would be very unwise to sit down, and we'll try again…."

They practiced for two more hours, and at the end, most of the villagers managed crawl back up, to at least a crouched position. Asterix could remain standing like Bonny, but he was not able to move much, because the moment he tried, he felt himself drawn to the ground. They were progressing, and Phyllis called it a day. Much too soon for Asterix' taste, but the others seemed glad. He couldn't blame them; it was unpleasant to feel out of control, especially for people who cherished their freedom like they did. Maybe Phyllis realized, because she had handled the whole lesson with care. The complete opposite of yesterday. Getafix had at one time whispered at him: "Maybe she's taking you advice at hand after all."

He had no idea. All he knew was that in a real fight, he would not be much better of standing immobile than sitting. And Phyllis gentler approach left much room for guessing. He had the feeling she was holding back. He could feel it by the way she let her powers increase and decrease with ease; this was not even near her full potential.

Lost in thought, he only noticed Phyllis' approaching when she sat down on the bench beside him. He looked at her legs. She was back in black pants and a simple tunic. Her hair was still loose, and she was concentrating on a knot in one of the black strands.

"You don't seem very happy," she said lightly, not taking her eyes of her hair.

"We're not exactly there yet, are we?"

Phyllis shrugged. "That's difficult to say. I mean, this is not like a fight, you can't simulate a state of mind that easily."

"And you're even holding back."

"Yeah, but so are you." Asterix threw her a confused look, and Phyllis tried to explain.

"You know that this is just training, and you can't just flip that knowledge off. It lessens the strength with which you try to fight me off. You do better than the others probably mostly because you realize what's behind the exercise."

It made sense, a little, but it did not offer Asterix the information he wanted: "How did you learn? Was it as difficult for you as…"

"Not nearly as difficult." Phyllis said promptly. She sighed. It was obvious that she couldn't just leave it at that, but she didn't really want to discuss this. "I learned in different circumstances, and I can't possibly create them for you. Well, I could, but trust me, you don't want me to."

"Manilla told you to keep things harmless….Something tells me you didn't follow that up for yourself."

Phyllis smiled a little: "Well, I didn't have a very willing teacher, so things were a little tense to begin with. But I learned most of it during real situations anyway. My healing powers help, since they are actually a form of mind control as well. That's not most important though. "

She paused for a while, staring off in space.

"When you imply your will on someone, that's dark energy. There's no denying that. The biggest difference between the both of us is our motivation. Your mind is set on protection, mine is set on revenge."

Her eyes darkened a little. "An illusion is only as strong as the will of the person who applies it. And I want Mesmeron dead much, much more than he could ever want me to obey him. As long as I focus on that feeling, the illusion doesn't stick."

She suddenly looked at him: "Do you see why I can't replicate that? Sure, I could threaten to harm some of you friends, and you'd find it much easier to resist me. For Obelix it would be even easier, he already dislikes me. And I don't care, but neither of us can fight Mesmeron alone so….I think you might be right. It is not a good idea to increase that dislike."

She had been listening. It would have made Asterix feel good, if it had not meant there was no way to learn any faster.

"That's very true," he said carefully, "But I would like to see your illusions full power…just to know, be better prepared. You don't have to imply it on the others, only on me."

"We'll see." Phyllis said, getting up. "In any case, there is not any benefit in getting you to do what I want, except for showing you my powers. That's not the strongest motivation, so you can't expect full power on that. The true deal will be when Mesmeron finds out you destroyed his control over me….The best way to deal with that is to make sure he doesn't find out in the first place…. See you later," she concluded, heading towards the place where Goliath was amusing herself with a large stack of hay. It was good to see the mare had regained her appetite. Asterix had lost his.


	20. Chapter 20

_Property of Goscinny and Uderzo_

_crazybeaver: good luck with your exams!_

"ENOUGH!"

It was a scream and a hiss at the same time, that literally cut through the air, because Asterix was thrown backwards and into the outside wall of Heroïx' hut. Much like the time he first met Phyllis in the forest, now a little more than two weeks ago. Back then she had simply immobilized him. But this time he had black spots in his vision, and when he regained sight, he saw nothing but her livid eyes, in which the golden spark had centered to become two burning points in the middle of her wide pupils, from which escaping was utterly impossible.

He could not move. Not a muscle. He couldn't even blink. He knew the others must have heard him slam into the wall, they were still in the hut when he had followed Phyllis outside. But he could only see Phyllis livid stare. Maybe they were waiting for him to put up a fight. It made sense, because for the past three days he had tried to convince Phyllis into a full imitation of Mesmerons powers. And she had kept refusing, growing more irritated to the point where she had started to avoid him. He didn't understand. He realized that you needed to be convinced of the danger of those powers to successfully fend them off. But he could not possibly become any more convinced of that danger than he was now.

Two days ago he had gone to inspect Laudanum. He had seen the strength of the soldiers who now seemed to be commanded by someone far different from their centurion. More disturbing than their actual strength was the way they behaved when they were not practicing. Asterix had been watching roman camps very often. In between duties they were much like his fellow villagers. Bickering, but without venom. They played games, sang songs, made bets. This friendly atmosphere was gone. The latest new troops had arrived almost a year back now, they were somewhat familiar to Asterix. He had seen two inseparable soldiers fight each other in a way that made Phyllis' and Obelix' fight look like nothing. It was not their friendship that had made them stop, that much was clear from their emotionless faces. He assumed they were not supposed to do lasting damage to each other, otherwise there would not be an army for Mesmeron to command. And Mesmeron could make the soldiers do that without even being present.

Phyllis and Obelix had been on his tail, he hadn't even tried to object to that. They had watched the entire scene with grim eyes. On the way back Phyllis had mumbled: "Mesmeron was not even in that camp. Maybe he will try to force other healers in cooperating with him again…it buys us more time, but I don't like it." She was just sharing her thoughts, something she had been doing increasingly often. Too bad they usually did not bring much positive news.

After that visit, Asterix wanted to know the full impact of the powers Phyllis and Mesmeron shared, Phyllis' reasoning behind them alone was just not enough. He found that she increased the power behind her attacks when she was irritated, and it became almost impossible not to try and get on her nerves. Obelix has scolded him for it, Manilla and Bonny warned him, but Getafix stayed silent and in his current state, that was all the encouragement he needed. However, until a few moments ago, Phyllis had refused to be provoked. Back in Heroïx' hut, he had given his chief a summary of the differences between what Phyllis was learning them to defend against and what Mesmeron could really do. Of course their chief wanted to see more too, but Phyllis refused and she simply walked out. And this was when Asterix had gone after her. "Why are you so angry at Manilla? You are doing exactly the same! You of all people should know better than to shield us from the truth! Your friends…"

The end of that sentence was now stuck in his throat, as was his breath, and he realized that he could die just from being in this state. There was no one rushing to help him. They had all heard him cross the line. But he knew they would not let this go on forever, so he kept calm, staring in Phyllis glinting eyes and listening at her hissing voice.

"How DARE you use them on me! I have been giving you far too much credit, you understand NOTHING! You think this is just like one of you stupid village fights! Throw a fish to start it, serve boar to stop it!" Her voice was heavy with contempt. It became harder and harder to take in what she was saying, as his body started to plea for air. He realized his mistake. There was no fighting this. Phyllis was no longer in a state where she could be of advice and he had no idea how to overcome her.

Bonny started talking to Phyllis. She sounded far and distant.

Phyllis did not seem to hear Bonny either, and it was only when Bonny smacked her in the face that Phyllis acknowledged her. Obelix was ready to keep her from attacking Bonny, but Phyllis merely blinked and turned away from Asterix.

As soon as the eye contact was broken, he could breathe again, he could blink. But even then, he could not move.

"Stop it, Phyllis," Getafix said calm but firmly.

"I can't! I can't just…." She shuddered.

"Let it go." Getafix was now next to her, placing a wrinkled hand on her shoulder. Phyllis took some deep breaths, and Asterix slowly felt his control on his limbs return. He did not feel like moving at all though. He gave a reassuring wave at the others, but remained seated while Phyllis turned to look at them. He followed her gaze. His fellow villagers looked defeated. His fault. This demonstration had killed their hopes. Had she seen that coming? Or did she always have difficulties to control her powers? It had happened before; when she had thought Goliath was dead…she had attacked Bonny.

Phyllis looked at Asterix again, her eyes void of golden sparkle, but her face determined.

"What did you try to do to fend me off?" she demanded, fighting back her anger long enough to let him answer. It did not matter, he had no reply. "I couldn't do anything," he finally said, knowing he was crushing the other villagers' hope. But he had just criticized Phyllis for keeping the truth from them.

"You did nothing," Phyllis rephrased. "Because you were focusing on your ways to irritate ME, focusing on ME. You wanted me to attack strongly. The exact opposite of what your state of mind should be." She walked up and down. "And then you just…what did you expect to happen? That someone would interfere? That I would stop my "demonstration"? I learned these powers to use them on Mesmeron. They are not meant to be stopped!"

"So there is now way to…" Asterix deduced, but he was interrupted "NO! you don't LISTEN. It's YOU who made your attempt to show your village these powers a disaster! Because you do not understand…."

She was getting angry again, and suddenly turned round. "But I can show you someone who might…." And her burning gaze was back, this time focused on Obelix. "Obelix, throw that menhir at Asterix!"

Obelix had been walking up to his smaller friend to make sure he was all right, but he froze at Phyllis' words. Asterix barely noticed the defensive forces that Manilla put over him. He was focused completely on the pure terror in his best friends' eyes, who turned from Phyllis to Asterix, hands trembling around the large stone on his back. He was struggling, but to Asterix, that on its own seemed a miracle. He had not even been able to start doing so. Even so, Obelix seemed to be losing the battle. He raised the menhir above his head, something which he could normally do with one hand. Now, his arms trembled, and he desperately tried to put the menhir down. He wanted to yell at Asterix to move, but doing so, he was sure to lose hold completely. Asterix just stared back at him, speechless, but unfazed.

"Why doesn't he move," Obelix thought frantically, "Is he that sure that I'm not going to throw? That she will stop me?" he tilted the menhir backwards, he was not able to hold this any longer…He had already seriously hurt Asterix in the past twice, he had sworn to himself he would never let it happen again…suddenly his doubts about whether Phyllis would stop him did not matter anymore. He would not let her damage their friendship with these games, and he would sure as hell not let her hurt Asterix. His eyes narrowed, and he threw the menhir full force in the direction of those burning eyes.

Phyllis was glad she had noticed the change in Obelix' face in time to duck, because he had definitely launched it full force. She smiled. She had wanted to show Obelix struggling, but he had been far stronger than that. "I did NOT expect that!" she exclaimed. "And you even counterattacked me. Fantastic." Obelix looked at her in disbelief, all color draining from his face. Phyllis did not notice, she had turned to Asterix, who was getting up. "Do you understand NOW?" she asked him. "Your thoughts only strengthened my power, while Obelix…" Asterix rushed forward, but Obelix snatched Phyllis from the ground before he reached them. The look in Obelix eyes made Phyllis stay quiet. He was furious. She had expected him to be angry with her, but he looked nothing short from murderous. She raised her hands in defeat, but it didn't make much of a difference.

"I you ever do that again, I'll …" Obelix couldn't finish, he was not used to feeling like this. He was angry, yes, and it was not that unfamiliar to him, but he was also scared out of his mind. He only remembered feeling like that one time before, when the Romans had almost thrown Asterix to the sharks. Back then he could only blame his own stupidity. Now there was someone else to blame. Someone who, despite being uncomfortable in his fierce grip, could not hide her glee.

"I won't," Phyllis said, "But Mesmeron will." She felt Obelix grip tighten, and she was grateful he only held the rim of her vest. "It was not my idea to show the true potential of his powers. But would you rather have gone home thinking there was nothing you could do against them?"

"…"

Obelix pushed her away from him, and stalked away. His push sent her sliding into Heroïx hut and into his fully set dinner table. Which, was all things considered, a lot less hurtful than what a random Roman could expect from Obelix. She knew he had understood the reason behind her actions. It was necessary. But she had not missed the terror in his eyes, and it had touched her far more than she could afford to admit. For the first time in years, she had actually considered to apologize.


	21. Chapter 21

_I do not own anything. I swear, this part just rolled out, and I did not plan any of it to be in the story._

_I know it is the shortest chapter up till now, and I intend to continue soon with the next. I already cut the beginning of this chapter off, and put it in the next, so I have started on it, this just seemed a part of its own. So no need to delay posting it._

Obelix went to his hut, too upset to even retreat to his menhirs. Asterix wanted to go after him immediately. Or maybe he wanted to strangle Phyllis first and go after him then. But Getafix stopped him from doing both that, by checking if he was okay. He did so very thoroughly, to the point of agitating him even further than he already was.

"I'm fine, Getafix, Obelix…"

"Will be fine too…you on the other hand have to be more careful with that girl."

"She would never have really have gone through with it..." He looked out of the window impatiently. He knew Obelix; whatever the large Gaul was thinking about right now was nothing pleasant. But Getafix grabbed his shoulders and looked at him, very intently.

"Asterix, Phyllis has two opposite powers fighting for dominance. And yes, she must strong-minded to be able to fuel them like that, but her mind is also in complete turmoil. I understand that you want to learn more about what our village is facing. If I were the chief of this village, I would encourage you to learn everything you can. But I chose to focus on other things, so I'm telling you different."

Asterix looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"That girl is ill. You can see all the signs: the paleness, the dark circles under her eyes, the drawn look on her face when she doesn't cover it up. She is at the very least exhausted, physically but certainly also mentally."

"I did notice. But she seemed a bit better…"

"A few good meals won't take away three years of being on edge. And it most certainly won't restore eight years of neglecting her emotions. She has been focused on revenge for eight years, and fed the powers that supported that. It is very easy to start believing nothing else exists. But when you saved Goliath, that became impossible.

Getafix smiled "So now she's in turmoil. Which is a good thing. You do not overpower someone by mimicking him. I learned that much from you." He turned serious again: "But she needs guidance and support and she is not willing to except it from anyone but you."

Asterix thought hard. He had noticed that she tried to value his opinions. And he had seen her struggle between different moods. If Getafix thought he could help her determine her way, he trusted that judgment. But he had no idea which way to lead her.

Getafix walked away from him. "I'm not a healer…it is as difficult for me to grasp the powers that reside within those women and men that are as it is for you. But I do understand that it has to do with knowing very well what you want and who you are. And by awakening the will to cure inside someone, they can help him cure." He looked back at Asterix.

"That sounds familiar," Asterix said.

"It does, doesn't it." Getafix seemed excited at his words, but when he continued his tone was dead-serious. "When Manilla started trying to understand her powers, she had never met Mesmeron….she developed a theory, and later a set of principles, that resembles that of druids strongly. It is a ground rule to let go of negative emotions, and thus certainly also of battle. It is not a bad technique on it's own, Bonny is living proof of that. But …

"Phyllis uses the same technique to enforce others to do what she wants them to do. It is not a different power. She simply learned to use it differently."

"I believe so. I've done my best to convince Manilla of this…I've used you as an example in fact."

Asterix raised an eyebrow.

"You would have been a good druid, Asterix." The blonde warrior opened his mouth to protest, but Getafix shushed him. "I do not think you would have been happy, but you would have been good. You understand the value of live, and you take time to think things over…most of the time." He paused for a moment. "However, it became clear very soon that you would never get adjusted to living without battling. When your friend was being bothered, you did not tell him to let it go after you defended him. You encouraged him to take action, and to make a stand."

Asterix knew what Getafix was referring to. This was the closest he had ever gone to letting his favorite pupil know he knew exactly how Obelix had ended up in a cauldron of potion when he was six.

"I knew back then that you would never succeed me…that you would never feel good doing so. But I also knew that at some point in my life, there would be a time to pass on the secret of the magic potion. It was my full intention to pass it on to another druid. Just like the other secrets that I have learned. Some of them however, you already know, and if I had to pass the secret of the magic potion on right now, you would know that too."

"…"

"Being a warrior should not exclude you from it. Just like being a warrior does not exclude Phyllis from her ability to heal. You are both up to being more"

"Getafix, I…"

"It just so happens that my magic potion will not be the main key in winning this one, Asterix. And I hope one day someone we can both take comfort in will come along to pass the magic potion making onto. I just want you to realize that if you should be that person, you would do fine. It's just a potion. And Phyllis powers are just what they are. They don't determine her, she determines how they work."

"And I thought you were keeping out of all this…" Asterix said incredously. "You need to tell her this Getafix. It will help her."

"I'm not the one she identifies with. And I think she realizes that it is the same force, though it wouldn't hurt to mention it again. But it doesn't make her path clear. She can choose to live in the past, and put everything on ending Mesmeron for good. She can chose to protect old friends or not, or to protect new ones…..this is what is driving her over the edge. And you need to pull her back, or she won't be able to do any of those things. Help her regain trust."


	22. Chapter 22

_Thanks for reviewing! To come back on some comments quickly: The names are a challenge for me, I learned them in Dutch when I learned to read, and grew up with them. They are often similar to the French ones, that I am familiar with too cause I have the entire series in French and I did my final paper on French to Dutch translation of Asterix comics. They are so part of my system and my spellchecker, that neither he or my brain really recognize them as a mistake. Hence, they tend to slip trough, though I try to use the English names. For Dogmatix it is hardest; I love his French name!_

_It also means a lot to me to hear Phyllis does not appear Mary-Sue. She is actually a character from an original story idea of mine, which wrote a story script for when I was fourteen. She had a similar background back then, but she was not a healer, and she was an orphan. I also think she was sort of Mary Sue in that story. But I'm 11 years older and wiser now, and the presence of Asterix really helps. Phyllis is not created as a love interest or a problem-solver; she is a problem to solve on her own, next to the obvious threat in the story. She has quite a few flaws, some induced by her background, some just part of her character. Which makes her fun! I also see that she invokes sympathy because she is difficult. Which just shows, it is much easier to love imperfection in fiction than in real life. Well, I hope the sympathy lasts, because she has not made her last mistake yet. The chapter after this one will prove that!_

_It is also hard for me not to idealize Asterix too much, because I adore him. But he has always had his weaker points in the comics and I try to respect them. _

_Wow, too much intro…..On with the story. Not entirely mine of course, you know the drill_

"I'm sorry Obelix."

"Why? I was the one who almost threw a menhir at you."

They were back at Obelix' hut, and Obelix was obviously shaken up. Asterix had expected him angry at Phyllis, or maybe at him, he would have understood that. But Obelix seemed angry with himself, mostly, and had no reason to be so.

"Well, you could have, but you didn't. Phyllis couldn't make you do it." Obelix' eyebrows knitted together in an angry frown at hearing her name. So he WAS angry at her.

"I understand that you..." Asterix began.

"NO! You don't understand! I was this close to smashing you!" He held his fingers less than a centimeter apart.

"What made you stop?"

"I couldn't...hurt you again...I promised myself I would never do that again."

"And you didn't Obelix! So please, be a little proud of yourself! You did great."

"She couldn't know I would not..."

"No, she couldn't...But she did know Manilla would put up a shield." Obelix wanted to protest, but Asterix interrupted him. "I'm not saying you have no right to be angry at her, but not for everything that happened today. I'm to blame too."

Obelix sat down again; he had gotten up during their discussion. He thought over it for a few moments. "Well I suppose you did say something quite nasty to her. Why?"

Asterix sighed. "I knew she was holding back. I wanted her to snap, to know what she could really do."

"She almost choked you!"

"Obelix, if I had been like that to someone else in our village, they might have gotten angry too. Apparently it is difficult for her to control those powers, which is why she didn't want to show them full force on any of us. I should have just listened to her. But I didn't, and I could do nothing to fend her off. You all looked so shocked over that...she couldn't leave it there...But she should not have picked you again! She could have chosen anybody, but she seems to insist on giving you a hard time, and I intend to find out why!"

"I know why."

That surprised Asterix. "You do?"

"I'm dangerous. The magic potion does not wear off..."

"We all have the magic potion when we are battling, Obelix."

"Yeah, but it wears off on you or the others, When you control me...I'm just a weapon you can use. If it hadn't been you, I would have thrown that menhir, Asterix."

"You are underestimating yourself, Obelix. You would have been able to fend off attacking someone else as well. But I think it is time we had a little talk with our guest. She owes you an apology...and I owe her one as well. We need to be able to trust her, and she needs to trust us."

Obelix sighed. "I don't like this adventure."

"No, neither do I. To think that she has been practicing like this for five years...I can understand she's troubled. Getafix is right, it needs to end. Will you come with me?"

"Of course."

When they reached his hut, Asterix fought back the urge to knock. This was his house, after all. But when he pushed the door, it didn't budge. Obelix frowned. "Is it locked? But..."

Asterix understood his surprise; it made no sense to lock the door like this. For one thing, the lock was on the outside, put there by his father when he was still a toddler, to prevent him from wandering off. Even when he was older, his mother kept the habit of locking it, just to let him know he was not supposed to disappear, near dinner time or when they were having a feast. Until Obelix went to his own home one day after they finished their homework, and he simply forgot that there was a lock. Astronomix had mended it before he and Sarsaparilla moved to Condatum, cause 'you never know, it could come in handy'. To his mothers' disappointment, it never had. The lock had been stronger, and it had withstood little Caesarions' potion-enhanced knock. But the door hadn't.

The handle slid back to its usual place easily, reminding Asterix that this was not the lock his father had repaired. Nor was anything in his house, safe for the bed Phyllis currently slept in. It had been in a small basement at the back of his house when their village burnt to the ground. Disgruntled as his mom had been that the bed had never come in handy, she was glad it had been preserved. He supposed he was too...

However, even with the handle pushed back, the door did not budge. Which was ridiculous. You could only lock it by closing the upper part of his door. He never did, unless there was a serious rain or thunderstorm. And the upper part was still at its original position, fastened against the inside of the wall. Phyllis could of course have put something against the door to block it, but it was ridiculous to do so, even he could climb over it easily... Suddenly it dawned on him. Sure enough, when he stretched out his hand, it hit an invisible wall. Obelix did the same, and when he felt the barrier, he decided to give it a firm push. The barrier didn't budge. But it did alert Phyllis, because they heard her yelling at them from the first floor.

"Did you catch that?" Obelix asked. Asterix shook his head, looking grim. "Phyllis, remove that barrier, now!" he yelled back. He had had enough off her powers for today.

"Go take a walk and come back in half an hour. See if you can find an edible fish at Unhygienix' or something."

She sounded much closer now, although he still didn't see her downstairs.

"There is no such thing." Obelix said. "I'll take my chances," Phyllis yelled back. Asterix was losing his patience now.

"No you won't, we need you alive! Now let me in my house!" He started to push the barrier with all his might, causing him to topple into his hut when he suddenly leaned against thing air. Lying on the floor, he spotted two tiny bare feet and bare calves. He scrambled back quickly, not sure if it was safe to look at her. Blushing furiously, he looked back at Obelix, who just looked irritated.

Phyllis had obviously been taking a bath; her hair was dripping wet and looked a bit longer than usual, and she was wrapped tightly in one of his towels. She looked furious. She pointed at Obelix. "He threw me against a kettle of union soup; and that's YOUR fault, so do you MIND?"

"There is no need for barriers around the house, you could have that much trust in us at this point." Asterix said, rather indignantly.

"Don't flatter yourself, it's not for you. Now can you PLEASE go and take a walk?" Asterix was already backing up, but to his utter astonishment, Obelix stepped forward, grabbed Phyllis'arms and lifted her of the ground, making her yell in surprise. "After you," he said to Asterix, who was speechless. He walked in. It was the first time since he met her that he saw the hint of a blush on Phyllis' face. Obelix carefully carried her up the stairs, and put her down again. "You finish, we'll wait downstairs."

Obelix came back, with a slight blush, but looking quite pleased. Asterix laughed. "You will never stop surprising me Obelix."

It had been fun to see Phyllis speechless, but it was not the best way to start a serious conversation. She was shooting daggers at them with her eyes, as she watched them across the table. Asterix assumed there was no immediate danger; her eyes did not change color. It made him think of something.

"Do your eyes change color when you heal?"

Phyllis lost her venom in surprise over his question. She pondered the answer for a while. "I don't know."

"Do her eyes change colors?" Obelix asked. This in turn confused Asterix. "Yeah, they do, you must have noticed when she was..."

Great, he had messed up his attempt at a non-sensitive topic in less than a minute. However, Obelix looked sour for just a moment, and decided to let it go. "Well I felt obliged to look at her, but..." He shook his head. "I don't remember."

"My eyes are green, like my mothers'" Phyllis said. "They do not really change colors when I use powers, people would have told me that. And it's good they don't, it would really be a disadvantage to warn an enemy like that. But since you seem to feel Mesmeron use his powers...maybe you see things other don't too."

"You mean not even Bonny sees..."

"I never used these powers on Bonny, not once!" She looked angry, as if she was accused of something.

"Phyllis, I could see some sort of golden sparkle every time you implied your will on someone, not just when you directed it at me. And it is not just that, when you get...angrier, they turn darker. So I thought, maybe when you heal..."

"Does it really matter?"

"I'm just trying to figure you out a little."

She waved back her still wet locks of hair. "Well, if my eyes work like a mood-predictor for you, then why the hell did you not shut up earlier today?"

"Yes, you have a point there. Look, Phyllis, I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you, I should have trusted your judgment."

"You're not sorry, you're happy as hell that you finally saw it was possible to defend against these powers. The only thing you're sorry for, is that I picked Obelix to show it to you, and I am NOT sorry for that."

She stood up and leant over the table, addressing Obelix: "Why do you think I chose you?"

"Because the magic potion does not wear off with me, and I'm dangerous when Mesmerons gets to control me."

Phyllis eyes widened a little, and she gave Asterix a surprised look before sitting down again. She sounded calm when she spoke again. "Well no...I mean, you would be dangerous, yes, but the others would be so too. Mesmeron does not fight on strength alone." She traced a line in the table. "I thought it was obvious to you, but apparently I was wrong. I could have for example seen if Cétautomatix could fight me off, but what would it matter? He does not need to know he can do it, when Mesmeron attacks, he will be in front of his wife and child, protecting them."

"That's only logical," Asterix said.

"I never said it wasn't. But it just so happens his wife and children did not jeopardize Mesmerons' victory, you did. And who will stand in front of you?"

She was making a point that he could not possibly deny. "Obelix, yes, but…"

"You did not trust me on my word that fending these powers off would be possible, no matter how set you are on trusting me. Even Bonny did not trust me. And failed to tell me so."

"Maybe you didn't listen very well."

"Maybe. But thanks to your insufferable behavior, I have not made the same mistake again. Obelix does not have to trust me, he fended me off easily. He knows he's up for it."

"It was not easy," Obelix said softly. Phyllis turned to him. "It does not feel that way, but you attacked me directly, which means that even if I had been stronger, I could not have made you throw that menhir."

"As good as it is to know that, you have acted like the enemy today. Maybe we should stop focusing on what Mesmeron can do to us, and start working on a way to fight him together," Asterix suggested.

Phyllis nodded. A bit unwillingly, she added: "We'll need to involve Bonny and Manilla, to protect the village when he attacks. He knows they are in the village anyway."

"I know, I already spoke with them about that. But are you prepared to help them?"

"If I put up a shield the size of the village, Mesmeron will know it is me, he'll recognize my presence like I recognize his. He might retreat at first, to check if the spell on Goliath was broken, but when he returns, his powers will be fueled by anger and they will be directed against you."

"Then you will not do that," Obelix said firmly. "Unless their defense is not strong enough," Asterix added.

"Oh, it will be strong enough, for a while. And with me it will be strong enough for a longer while. But it will not last forever. The way I see it, they should defend the village, while you, and the others who have practiced, take on his minions. If I'm able to fight just Mesmeron, especially when he is not prepared to meet me, I stand a chance."

"I know we will need you in this battle Phyllis, but we are not planning to let you fight him alone."

They looked at each other for a moment, blue eyes locking with green ones. Phyllis frowned a bit, before she spoke again: "I think I can use all the help I can get."

They sat silent for a while. Asterix hut had become quite dark, evening had fallen over the village. Phyllis stood up to light a candle, and Asterix walked towards his fireplace. "We didn't go hunting today, but it appears not all the union soup was spilled over you after all; Impedimenta left a kettle of it for us to warm up." He started to make a fire, and Obelix filled a mug with beer and one with goat milk. "Goat milk or beer?" he asked Phyllis, sounding more neutral than he had in days.

"With union soup? Beer please. But I'll give some goat milk to the puppies."

With the flames reflecting on the wooden walls, the dogs cuddling together and the smell of soup filling the place, Asterix' hut became quite cozy. The remainder of the evening was spent talking about animals and dog tricks. Phyllis went to prepare Goliath for the night, but she returned after half an hour, and when Asterix woke up for a moment later that night, he spotted her sleeping form in his parents' bed. Somehow it reassured him to see her there, and he fell back asleep minutes later.


	23. Chapter 23

_Sorry for letting you wait. The story is still in my mind, and I have a complete picture of where I want it to go (apart from some little in between scenes that should not create too much difficulty). The only thing I lack is time, with my job and three evening classes. I will certainly complete this story, you don't have to fear for that, but it will take time…._

The next morning, Asterix woke up early because someone was shaking his shoulder. Still sleepy, he distinguished a dark form above him. It took him a while to acknowledge it was Phyllis, fully dressed in black pants and a black long-sleeved vest. Her hair was bound back in a ponytail. It was the same attire in which she had battled Obelix. She looked tense, which made him wake up quite fast.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not sure…Mesmeron is using mind control I think." Asterix immediately focused, trying to sense the familiar feeling of being controlled, but he felt nothing. "Not on us…" Phyllis said. "But we should go to your druids' house, to see if Manilla senses it too."

Asterix turned to wake Obelix, but Phyllis stopped him. "Let him sleep a bit longer, Mesmeron might just be practicing on the Romans. And Obelix will need his strength soon." It was strange to think Obelix could possibly lack strength, but Asterix said nothing and got ready quickly. When he passed his table on the way out, he could see that Phyllis had written a note for Obelix, telling them where they went.

Meanwhile in Laudanum….

Centurion Tullius felt nervous. He was readying his troops, telling them to check their armor for the third time. They had already formed several attacking formations, and they had moved more organized than he had ever seen them do so. Not one legionnaire walking out of place. They had marched without missing a beat. They were completely ready for their new mission: Test out the strength of a nearby village. A village counting less people than his organized troops counted legionnaires. It was not even a test; theoretically it was a known victory. But his mind was not set on victory. He wanted to know how strong they were.

Somewhere, deep at the back of his mind, he knew this already. Somewhere he knew he had already fought, or at least tried to fight the villagers. But it was true, back then, his legionnaires were different. And it didn't matter either. He would really see what those villagers were made of today. He fidgeted with his sword. A centurion should wish for an easy victory, as few of his minions down as possible. So why this feeling that any outcome would do?

Behind him stood a cloaked old man, ready to accompany them. Tullius was not really aware of him. And the old man was only partly focused on Tullius when the centurion ordered his troops to leave camp. The centurion would do as expected from him. That Mesmeron did not doubt. What did intrigue him were the secrets hidden in the small village they were heading for. Would that magic potion challenge the troops, now guided by someone far more powerful than their centurion? Was it worth the faith Manilla seemed to put in it? If yes, than it would be his to acquire. It would be easy, he had no need for the secret itself, only for the extra power that could lead him to his ultimate goal. And if not, then it would be far, far easier to force the mother of all healers out than it had been before. Without her pupils to support her, it seemed like child's play. But he would not rush. He would make sure there was no possible escape before he made his final strike.

One absence was bothering him, if only slightly. After all, he had felt her shadow on him only a handful of times the past three years. And she had not hindered him even once. Yes, it had been good not to kill that horse. The only difficult thing had been to resist making Phyllis part of his army. No matter how great an addition that she could prove to be. Yes, she would be the perfect tool to get Manilla out of hiding. She could slash her without the old woman even defending herself. But he knew that whatever weapon he would put in her hand might just as well end up in his chest. So he had chosen not to risk it. After all, he held the key to her destruction. He was in perfect control.

"So my dear villagers. It seems you have been quite a pest to old high and mighty Caesar. Let's see how you do when Í am in command."

Cacofonix and Obelix arrived at Vitalstatistix' hut at the same time, to meet respectively their leader and best friend. Vitalstatistix was addressing Phyllis to try and figure out what her worries meant for his villagers. "So, is he attacking us or what? Did he figure out …what we did?"

"You mean does he know Asterix crossed one of his plans? I don't think so, he would be furious, and I would sense that…but as it is, I just feel … curiosity." Phyllis looked quite helpless to Asterix. She knew she was not making much sense, and he had just as hard a time understanding her as his chief. Before she could say anything more, Cacofonix piped up: "They are attacking all right, the Romans are, I saw them moving towards the village."

The sensation going through them was as unfamiliar as fear to a Viking. Normally the village welcomed a roman attack; it held little danger to them. Just enough to make sure you did not go into battle without taking the magic potion. Now, Cacofonix' message was nowhere near the prelude to a feast with boars and beers.

Asterix quickly glanced at Phyllis, who seemed to have frozen up completely. He decided to take matters into his hands. "Well, were they coming from Laudanum? New troops did arrive recently, they tend to attack at least once, and we haven't seen them yet."

"They definitely came from Laudanum." Cacofonix confirmed.

Vitalstatistix was second to recover: "Well, let's go and meet them. We should not give them the chance to reach the village."

"Wait a minute." Manilla sounded quiet but firm. "You cannot rush into this like any other battle. Phyllis, are you sure that…"

Phyllis blew up at the spot: "What do you mean, am I sure? Do you not recognize his powers getting closer? How am I supposed to know what it means? I have been here all the time, just like you."

Getafix stepped in: "You felt curiosity….about what?"

"About the magic potion." It came to Asterix as he thought back to his first encounter with Mesmeron. "That's what he was curious about from the start. He must want to see what it can do against his troops." Phyllis looked positively alarmed now. "If you hold out against him, it's worth taking. Otherwise he'll just get what he was looking for from the very beginning, " she completed Asterix' thoughts.

"Which would be me." Manilla said calmly. "Well, that has not happened before, and it won't happen today. But even if he is just testing, he will try to get some control over you. I can't imagine him letting you trash his new found army without any sort of disruption."

"That's what Phyllis trained us for. But just in case…" Asterix took a swig of potion, raced up to Cacofonix hut and back, and drew out where they would probably meet the troops… "Give us until we pass this point, he said, marking a spot on his improvised map. "Some of Obelix' menhirs that got damaged (-do not ask-how) were left there. If we seem to be in trouble when we pass that point, can you still shield us from the Romans?" Bonny gave a firm nod, and Manilla added a simple 'yes'.

"Okay then we'll be on our way."

"Normally I'd tell you to keep in mind that these Romans are not attacking out of their free will, but…" Manilla was stopped by a furious look from Phyllis. "Do as much damage as you can," she said. "They will not hold back either. But they might be back I you give him the chance."

"Phyllis, if this is nothing but a test to him, he will probably hold back too much for you to get a shot at him. Can you handle staying in the village, protecting it if necessary?" Asterix did not mean it as a rhetoric question. For him, standing back was torture, and he had a feeling that it would be the same for Phyllis.

"Mesmeron will not be there, at least not close to the troops, so I guess I'll have no choice." She was not facing him. Asterix stepped closer, and after some hesitation, put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll make it as hard a test as possible on him. And we'll be back here to evaluate before you know it." It was meant as sort of a joke, but Phyllis met his eyes without the ghost of a smile in them. "Okay," she just whispered.

There was no more time to waste. As the Gauls gathered for magic potion, Phyllis, Bonny and Manilla gathered at Cacofonix hut, the only place high enough to overlook the scene. Phyllis walked up and down a few times and then climbed on the roof of the hut. "The other camps seem quiet," she informed the other women. Bonny gave a wry smile. She knew the main reason for Phyllis changing her position was to get away from them.

As Asterix walked out with the others, he spotted Goliath close to Fulliautomatix' shop. She was not fastened to anything, Phyllis never did, and there was no need…the horse was not about to leave her side anyway. But she was saddled, and that was new. Phyllis usually rode her without a saddle and steered her with her legs. But she had told him once that she did saddle her for long or fast trips, since it did improve her grip on the horses' back, and the reins were easy when she needed to use her legs not to fall off. Obviously her agreement on staying in the village was not unconditional. It didn't matter, he did not expect it to be.

The Romans were close to the village for Asterix taste. They could see them as soon as they passed the gates. They neared the village in unnatural order, with an unfamiliar eagerness. For a short moment he felt the curiosity Phyllis had described, and he wondered if he picked up Mesmerons' powers or he simply deduced the feeling from the way the Romans behaved. But a moment later this sentiment left him and a sudden tiredness invaded his mind and limbs. Which was absurd, since they were walking towards a very tricky battle. He should feel alert. But he didn't. It started to take an effort to keep walking, and he slowed down without noticing. The other Gauls struggled just like him, fighting to keep walking.

Back in the village, Manilla looked up to see Phyllis blinking rapidly, shaking her head a few times. "What are you feeling? Is Mesmeron…"

"He's…making them sleepy," Phyllis said, closing off for the feeling she had allowed to grip her. She had wanted to know so badly she couldn't block it before experiencing it herself. She looked down at Manilla, whose clear eyes were tense. Suddenly she was not so sure Manilla experienced Mesmerons power the way she did herself. Maybe her ability to use them díd weaken her defense.

But she had no time to wonder. She saw that the Gauls were struggling. Sure, they were walking, but had Asterix not said they would attack straight away, allowing as little time for Mesmeron to play tricks on them as possible? She realized with a grunt that she had prepared them to defend against straight orders. And they were ordered to fall asleep, but they would not experience it like that. "They don't recognize this as an order," she said, climbing down, "They feel tired. It is not working like a charm; they would be lying on the ground if they had no defense against his powers. But that doesn't matter; they'll lose if they fight in this state." Her voice rose a little in alarm.

"Clever," Manilla said dryly, but Phyllis saw that her eyes were fixed on the heap of large stones that Asterix had indicated. The Gauls were only twenty meters off.

"They are fighting though," Bonny said. "Asterix is picking up speed…he's shrugging it off. We need to give them enough time." Manilla saw the girls tense, sensed their upcoming argument, but she could not allow herself to focus on it. The Gauls were nearing the broken menhirs. She needed to prepare herself to intervene

"You need to shield them," Phyllis said urgently when they were mere meters away. Manilla was preparing herself, but Bonny's clear voice stopped her "No! They are resisting! They are walking...if we intervene now they will lose all confidence!"

"Are you Mad?" Phyllis yelled. "They are not attacking! Attacking involves running and screaming!"

"Maybe they are just cautious," Manilla said, doubtful. She had witnessed much in her life, but she had always distanced herself from violence. She was inclined to believe Phyllis if she did not think the Gauls were ready to attack.

"Phyllis, trust me, we can afford to let them walk past that mark," Bonny said. "Manilla learnt me how to do this properly now." Phyllis was fuming. "I trusted you before, and paid the price. Asterix asked you to shield them when they passed the mark. He's past it. DO IT!"

"NOT YET!" Bonny yelled back. Phyllis extended her hands, clearly intending to shield them herself, and Manilla grabbed her shoulders to stop her.

"No! Even if Mesmeron is miles away, he'll sense it when you use you powers that much! Give us until the last Gaul has passed the mark, I promise that we will…" She stopped when she noticed the fear in Phyllis' eyes , when she noticed how her words went lost, carrying no meaning to her former student. Phyllis did not simply not want to listen to her; she was not able too. Manilla let go, and Phyllis stormed of, towards Goliath. Fulliautomatix had taken his large hammer to the battlefield, like usual. Phyllis grabbed two smaller ones and raced away on her horse, Bonny's voice barely reaching her as she screamed for her to stop.

The sound of hooves battering the field behind him barely registered in Asterix' mind. He had focused all his will on not giving in to the immense temptation to lied down and close his eyes. He kept walking, passing the landmark he had indicated and realizing that no one intervened. They were resisting the attack, that was true. But how could they fight like this?

They had to turn back, but something else was invading his mind...a pulling sensation. Maybe it was just Mesmerons' eagerness to test their strength. It was not nearly as strong as the impulse to sleep…But it was far more difficult to fight. His mind could tell him meeting the Romans in this shape was bad news, but his entire being resisted turning back. They were Gauls. They were proud and free. They never ran. In any other situation, his mind could have overcome this, he could have swallow the pride that could kill them, but now he was using his mind to fight sleep. There was no room to think. There was barely room to register anything. But while he barely heard the galloping horse behind him, Phyllis screech pierced his mind and removed everything else. She just yelled, forming no words but conveying one clear emotion: unbound rage.

They passed inches from him, Goliaths' flipping tail touching his shoulder as they did. That was the moment when the sleeping feeling left him completely, and he realized with horror that a tiny young woman was racing towards a roman centurion on his horse, armed by a long sword that could pierce her before she could even bring the hammers she carried into play. He knew she would not use her powers, for the small chance that Mesmeron was not physically watching this attack. The small chance to pass unnoticed was apparently worth risking her life over. But he could still safe her.

He raced forward, the Centurion raced forward, sword outstretched in Phyllis' direction. The tiniest moment before Asterix could push both horse and rider aside, Phyllis threw the first hammer towards the sword. It hit the blade, and the sword was slung backwards towards the centurion's face, who ducked to avoid it, his head now in perfect position for his tiny opponent to smash the side of it with the second hammer. He tumbled of his horse, completely knocked out. Goliath and Phyllis made a sharp turn, and she faced Asterix for a moment, before looking back at the legion that was now behind her. The soldiers had stopped. Their faces had lost their determined look, which was replaced by utter confusion. For a moment Asterix thought that this was caused by Phyllis' rather unusual attack, but he saw Phyllis looking back and forth several times with wild eyes, which made him realize that Mesmerons' influence over the soldiers was gone.

"He saw me," she said, when he caught up with her. For a moment she looked blank, but then her eyes got the dark shade he had seen a few times before. She no longer had to hold back.

The Romans behind her were hesitating, some not even aware of how they got there in the first place, others realizing they did not want to meet the Gauls in battle and trying to turn back.

Obelix joined them, the others not far behind. "Do not let them get away," Phyllis started urgently, "Do not let them get back to the camp unharmed, or Mesmeron will be back to destroy your village tomorrow or even tonight!" They nodded. "But you have to go back to the village," Asterix said "Just in case…"

"He will not regain his power over the Romans in just a second, don't worry about the village…Attack! If Mesmeron saw me, maybe he is close enough for me to do the same." She raced off, towards the army, one hand outstretched and apparently urging the legionnaires to move, because they all leapt out of her way.

Asterix did not like to fight a retreating army, but Phyllis had given him proper motivation, and Obelix was even more determined not to let any roman go unbeaten. But apart from that, they were soon engaged in a battle as normal as the hundreds before it. Maybe another group of villagers would have terminated those Romans, taking away their chance to return another day. Before, the magic potion allowed Asterix and his friends not to do so. They could always fight again another day. Today was different, but the knowledge that the Romans were in fact facing the same enemy as them made it impossible. So they fought harshly, but not differently. It was a short battle.

When Asterix looked up again, he saw dark clouds in the distance, where he knew Laudanum was. Phyllis was nowhere to be seen. Vitalstatistix came up to him.

"What is that?" he asked, pointing towards the clouds. "I don't know," Asterix replied. "Maybe Phyllis found Mesmeron." He turned to his leader. "If she did, she needs help." Vitalstatistix nodded grimly: "Well good thing we did not hold back on our sip of potion then. Let us hope it lasts long enough." He gathered the other villagers and they set course for Laudanum.

Around the camp, a strong wind was blowing. Raging was more like it, because tents were flying around, material was shattered everywhere and even the wooden reinforcement of the camp was being torn apart. Asterix and Obelix came near the entrance, Obelix keeping a hand on Asterix' shoulder to steady him. The potion made them almost equal in strength, but not in weight.

The old man that Asterix had seen before was nowhere to be seen. But through the blowing wind, he spotted a small black figure, at the centre of the camp. He looked up at Obelix. "I'm going up to her, can you keep an eye out to see if the Romans are coming back?" Obelix gave him an odd look. They had just beaten the Romans into pulp, it would take longer than this for them to revive. But he caught the meaning behind his words: Look after our friends. Asterix raced through the wind, thrown slightly of course by its force. But when he reached Phyllis, he also reached the centre of the tornado her forces were creating. It was completely still.

Phyllis' eyes were dark. She did not seem to see him, muttering the same thing over and over again. He had to get close to understand her over the chaos created by the wind.

"Show yourself, show yourself, show yourself, show yourself!"

It was no use. He could feel that Mesmeron was not close. Phyllis might be able to sense him better, but he was not near. Mesmeron gave him a nasty sensation that he did not understand, but that was undeniable. Which meant their chance to face him unprepared was gone. He slowly reached out his hand, putting it on her shoulder. She flinched, but when he did not pull back, the wind started to slow down, and a few minutes later, she seemed to regain control. He could not check her eyes, because she refused to look at him. "Let's go home," he said. "We'll just have to fight another day." She went with him, and they marched home in silence. The entire way home, she did not meet his eyes even once.

_Reviews are welcome __. _


	24. Chapter 24

_Finally! I'm sorry it took me so long to update! But it has been a hard chapter to write, I have pictured it for a long time and I wanted to take my time to make it come out like I see it in front of me. I hope it worked._

_And I cannot promise the other updates will come sooner, as I have a full-time job and three evening classes keeping me busy. Next week, I'll be away to a fair we have with work, so probably no time to write much, since I also work the evenings. But I do dare to promise I will write this story to the end. I know where it is leading, and I will get there. In due time. So if you like the story, bear with me._

_P.S. Thanks for pointing out errors. I'll make work of revising it as soon as I have a few days off. But for now I thought an update was more wanted __._

_Disclaimer: Albert Uderzo and Réné Goscinny created the world of Asterix, Obelix and their friendship and I'm just a very dedicated fan who loves to write about them __._

It was unnatural to return from a battle in dead silence. Asterix felt the eyes of his friends on him, could feel how their unspoken worries thickened the air. Obelix followed him like a shadow, but he was not the only one who kept watch over him. He felt more backed up than ever, although that was not exactly the best way to put it. They were watching over him and it scared him more than any harm that could possibly come to him. They would continue doing this until they were no longer able to, but if it ever came to that, there would be nothing left that could hurt him. And he understood. He shared Phyllis' need to run from those dear to her, to lock them away as far as possible. To say goodbye to everyone on the very moment you realize that they are the reason you want to live.

She was shivering slightly, looking pale and drawn. Getafix was right, she was ill. Goliath walked next to her, her head brushing Phyllis' shoulder from time to time. Phyllis' lack of reaction showed that her mind was elsewhere; and it was not a pleasant place. He had tried to help her, and she had held onto her horse like an anchor, but she was not getting closer to reaching the shore. It was difficult to try and be someone's friend while he felt the need to lock his own friends away as far as possible. This struggle kept the words of support from passing his lips.

But as they neared their sweet little village, chimneys smoking, the gates open wide despite the many dangers lurking outside, his troubled mind calmed down. He looked up and gave Obelix a reassuring smile, which was carefully returned. It was no use. Maybe they faced a danger that they could not overcome. But they would not let it defeat them before the battle, and let their friendship be ruined by the fear of losing it. It was no exceptional bravery on his part. Phyllis' presence was like a mirror to him. He understood her; at times frighteningly well. Obelix was the one who usually related easier to people between the two of them. But he felt that Getafix was right; Phyllis resembled him. That was why he knew how to approach her. Maybe it was even why he could see her eyes darken and lighten when others couldn't. But most of all it was why he had to fight the desire to face this dark enemy far away from those he cared for. He had the outcome of that scenario in front of him, and it was not leading to a happy ending.

As welcoming as the village itself looked, the picture was ruined by the furious redhead that was waiting for them just past the entrance. He felt Phyllis stiffen beside him, her expressionless face turning livid at once. She did not measure up to her former friend though; it was surprising how someone who permanently radiated softness could suddenly turn so cold.

"Tell me that you beat Mesmeron so easily that it doesn't even show you met him, Phyllis," she said. Her sarcastic tone made clear that she knew they never even saw Mesmeron.

Phyllis was silent.

"Tell me something else then, anything. Anything that makes me understand why you could not just…."

This time Phyllis did not let her finish "Not just what! Watch you break another promise?" She yelled, her powers flashing up to push Bonny back, but she blocked them without her powers even showing. Asterix doubted Bonny was even using healing powers, because her voice dripped with venom as she yelled back:

"I cannot believe you think I would not have protected them! I cannot believe you rather sold out the one person who is trying to be your friend than to trust me!"

"Look were trusting you has brought me Bonny!"

"You are ALIVE! Which is more than you were planning to be!"

"Thanks A LOT for that, I have enjoyed my life so much the past three years! Or no you know what? Make that EIGHT!"

There was no way to interrupt the vicious fight between the two girls, which intensified like a fire in hay. Phyllis' powers were rising up and flaring towards Bonny, but they never quite seemed to reach her.

"Just because YOU have no reason to live does not mean that you have to throw other people's lives away!"

Phyllis' powers dropped. Asterix turned and she caught his gaze for the first time since they had looked at each other on the battlefield. Her eyes were no longer dark, and she seemed to recoil from him. Before he could say something, Bonny went on.

"From the moment you arrived here I have been hoping we could somehow repair our friendship…but you never even gave it the slightest chance. And maybe I should be thankful for that. Because despite everything Asterix did for you, his life is obviously worth less to you than getting your revenge. If Marcus and Biancus had not died helping you, they would have been ashamed!"

Phyllis turned and ran. Goliath followed her, but Phyllis seemed to prevent her from passing the village gates, because Goliath could not cross them. She got on her hind legs trying to get past the invisible border.

Asterix had not in the least expected this. He was half in front of Bonny, fully expecting Phyllis to lash out at her and preparing to prevent her from doing permanent damage. Bonny looked as taken aback as he felt. Getafix marched up to them. "You need to go after her, it is dangerous to have her alone outside in that state. She could hurt herself and others."

Asterix remembered the fearful look she had given him, and he looked at the horse that was walking up to him, head low. He extended his hand towards Goliath, and she did not back away. "I can't… she'll run…" He looked helplessly at Obelix, who just nodded and turned to follow Phyllis.

"What were you thinking?" Asterix said, as the meaning behind Bonny's harsh words started to sink in

Bonny looked miserable. "I don't know," she said, all the power drained from her voice. "I …just…"

"You made it sound as if she was responsible for her friends' deaths. And in case you hadn't noticed, she wàs trying to help us. I understand that it wasn't clear whether we were going to be able to fight, but she obviously just panicked. She was not planning to go after Mesmeron until it became clear he noticed her."

"How could he not notice her! She was storming towards those Romans like…"

"Like someone who was attacking! That's what it looks like when you normally attack!" Asterix yelled, unable to mask his anger, and Bonny's eyes were filling up with tears. He took a deep breath. He did not doubt that Bonny would have shielded them eventually. On time. He did not want her to think otherwise, so he told her.

"I can't believe she just ran off….I was so mad….I don't understand her at all anymore…Oh, but the look on her face as I mentioned Marcus and Biancus….I should never have said that, it's not even true. They would have hated me for telling her that." Bonny's voice broke over her last sentence, and tears were streaming down her face. Asterix had no idea what to say to her anymore. He left the comforting to those who were better in it than him, and went after Obelix. He was sure that he would be no more use there than he was in the village. Mesmeron had destroyed so much more than just lives, and at the moment he felt incapable of fixing any of it. This was not their adventure. It was not even an adventure; the outcome of those was banquet under a starlit sky. Even if Mesmeron had spontaneously died from a stroke upon seeing Goliath, they would barely have reason to celebrate. No, this was more like a nightmare. Only not even the worst nightmare he'd ever had could have explained the haunted look on Phyllis' face before she ran off.

It took Obelix a while to find Phyllis; she had left no trace, there was no sign that she had lost control over her powers. For a moment he considered going back; he did not like to leave Asterix alone, and if Phyllis has simply decided that she did not want to be in the village right now, that was fair enough to him. It was easy to understand why, and she was by no means defenseless. But he knew Asterix would not agree. He had decided to protect her. If Obelix did not bring her back to the village, Asterix would. So he sat down for a moment to think. Would she leave them? He thought not, even if Bonny had scolded her out of helping them, Phyllis would never just walk away from Mesmeron. The roman camps were out of the question; they were not sure where Mesmeron was lurking. And she did not want company, even Goliath had not been allowed to follow her….When he sulked, he went to his menhirs. No one was around there, it was spacious and the monotonous sound of him tapping the solid stone (a very delicate movement given his force) calmed him. It was his own favorite spot, but the beach had a similar effect on him, and no doubt on many others. He headed towards the dunes.

After a few minutes his eye caught a black spot between the long helms of grass, a little in front of him. Phyllis rested her face on her hands, staring at the ocean, probably. He could not see, because he only saw her back and her black ponytail, waving slightly in the chilly sea breeze.

Obelix felt uncomfortable. He was sent here to prevent disaster, but there was no sign of the turmoil that Asterix had foreseen. At least not on the outside. Did she notice his presence? He cleared his throat. Phyllis did not look up. She had heard or sensed him coming.

"Huh, we really should go back…it's not good to be out here alone."

Phyllis nodded, barely visible. "I'll be back in a minute. Please go already….don't leave A….the others alone."

It would have been easy to listen to those words, and ignore their tone. The slightly raised voice, somewhat muffled. It would have been easy to ignore how she could not even say his best friends' name, but wasn't that the reason he was here in the first place? He stepped forward until he stood next to her, and carefully sat down. The end of the afternoon was near, the sun was still up, but if they stayed here for another hour, they would be able to see it set. The few clouds in the sky would not prevent that. Suddenly it felt like an attractive option. To escape the restricted, heavy atmosphere of the village and all the tensions it carried. He sighed. Phyllis mimicked him, but her sigh got stuck halfway in a suppressed sob. Obelix glanced sideward's. Phyllis did not seem to be crying, but he wondered if it wasn't simply because she was too tired to do so.

"Were they your friends? Marcus and Biancus?" The question left his mouth before he realized it. Phyllis cringed slightly. A good five meters behind her, Asterix did the same. He had walked straight to the beach when he first left the village, seeing no other logical place for Phyllis to go. He was about to catch up with her and Obelix, when the latter one's question stopped him in his tracks. It had to be the most painful thing he could have asked her. But it pointed straight at one of the biggest blanks in Phyllis' story as told by her former mentor. Straight to the moment that had separated them. If they ever wanted to fully understand Phyllis, this was the question that needed to be asked. And though it took her a few moments, Phyllis started to answer.

"They were soldiers in the legion that accompanied us to the Forest House. Or actually, we accompanied them…" she paused for a moment. "Biancus was like, as tall as you, despite being only seventeen. His hair was very light brown, hence the name, it's slightly unusual for a roman. Marcus was very different, with his black eyes and hair, and he only a bit taller than me. But they were both like big brothers to me. Especially Biancus, who actually had a little sister…" She shivered slightly. "He was stronger than most of the older soldiers, but he never abused it. Marcus was…probably my first crush." She smiled, though it caused a few tears to drop from her eyes. She made no attempt to hide them anymore. "He was optimistic and intelligent, always joking around with everyone…" She frowned. "Even the day….when Mesmeron made him attack us. It was not like what happened to all of you, you all knew you could expect something to happen. But did you see the look on those Romans' faces?"

He had seen it. They had looked utterly lost. "They had no idea what was happening….they were not even scared of us, really, they were just…."

"Lost," Phyllis completed for him. "I know that now, but somehow, Marcus managed to hide that from me. He even reassured me. He told me to stay in the Forest House, that he would bring the others home, and that he would be back soon. He told me not to worry. And you know what? Despite the fact that he had tried to attack my home just minutes ago, I believed him. And I let him go."

For a moment she stayed silent. But after a few breaths, trying to control her voice she continued:

"He never returned. I pleaded with Manilla to go to their camp, but she refused to let me or anyone go. After almost a week, I slipped away…and as I arrived there, I found them." Despite her attempts, she sounded like the terrified 16 year old who should have told someone this story eight years ago. But she never had.

"They must have died the day they came to the forest house… he hung them in the middle of camp, for all to see, but none of the soldiers did. They did not see them, they…" Phyllis shuddered. "They did not sméll them. They just continued everyday life, right until my screaming startled them. But even then they did not see, they thought I was losing my mind. They tried to tell me that Marcus was on leave, meeting with his father, and that Biancus went with him…..They tried to bring me back to the Forest House. It was the first time I ever used my powers to fight people off."

"I went to find Marcus' father, they would meet in a nearby city soon I knew that. Marcus father is a merchant…I prayed all the way that I would find them there, that Mesmeron was just playing tricks on me, or even that I was really losing it. But they weren't there, of course. Marcus father tried to tell me it was okay, that the centurion of their camp knew how to reach him, that he would have known him if something happened to his son. But he still went back to the camp with me. And I kept hoping all the way back, even as we neared the walls and that terrible smell returned….By then I knew it was not an illusion, I just prayed that Marcus' father would not see them, that he would not have to carry that image with him for the rest of his life….But of course he did. And so did all the others, because the illusion was gone the moment we arrived." She held her face in her hands. "I thought that I would never see anything more horrible than that, but when Marcus father turned to me, realizing I caused their death, his face became the one that haunts me, every time I think of them, of Mesmeron, of roman camps…every time I try to fall asleep.

Asterix knuckles went white as he tried to get a hold of his anger. This very moment, he realized what state it took to be immune to Mesmerons' illusions. He knew that they would not touch him now; his seething mind was not open for any distraction. Normally he knew to shake off his anger as quickly as it came to him, but this feeling was too strong to push away. He know fully knew what danger was facing them, and but the uneasy sense of trepidation was gone.

Manilla had told them Mesmeron killed Phyllis' friends. He had known. But it had never really seeped in. Phyllis' words gave them a name, a face. Phyllis' words opened up the immense cruelty behind the Mesmerons act. Romans killed in battle….they would have killed him a hundred times already if not for the magic potion. Yet he had never hated them…they did what they were told, sometimes not for the best of reasons, sometimes because they really believed the roman civilization was a blessing to spread. But Mesmeron…had it even been a punishment? Maybe, but not for Marcus and Biancus. The other soldiers did not realize their fellows were dead, it was not meant to scare them. No, they died as payback, a petty revenge against the girl who had prevented Mesmeron from getting what he wanted. Maybe, just maybe, it was meant to scare her off. If so, it was a small comfort to know that this had backfired on the man completely. No one who had even the slightest insight in other people's feelings would have believed Phyllis to crawl back in fear after something like that. She could never have.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry!" It came out as a squeak, and when Obelix did not react, Phyllis continued. "I should never have involved you in this. I should have stopped him when he went for Goliath. I could have. But I missed her so much!"

Asterix wanted to tell her she was wrong, she could never have stopped him. He had made his decision the first time they met, to crack whatever was holding her captured. Maybe even before. He wanted to tell her that she had not brought this danger over them, it would even have reached them years earlier, had she not stood in Mesmerons way. Getafix would have been Manilla's only resort. He wanted to tell her she was not wrong today, and most of all that she was not to blame for Marcus' and Biancus' deaths….But he did not know where to begin. And Obelix said none of those things. Instead he softly reached out to stroke the Phyllis' back, and when this caused her to nearly choke on the effort to hold back her sobs, he just pulled her towards him and rocked her in his arm. She cried against his chest, not with the loud hysterical wails that Mrs Geriatrix sometimes used to get her way, but with soft, desperate sounds. It was the saddest thing Asterix had ever seen, he could not think of a moment he had felt more sorry for anyone.

Yet Obelix' reaction, so different from what his own would have been, filled him with warmth. He was the better speaker between the two of them, maybe also the cleverer one, though Obelix was often underestimated because of his unique view on the world. But even now, with this girl that was supposed to resemble him, Obelix understood better what she needed than he did. To know that she grieved her friends and that she understood his fear of losing Asterix was enough for Obelix to erase their past fights and literally close her in his arms. It made Asterix incredibly proud to be his best friend.

Softly he walked up to them and sat beside them. Obelix glanced at him, his face a mixture of compassion and anger. It was clear he held the same feelings towards Mesmeron as Asterix. Asterix reached out to hold one of Phylliss small, cold hands. She twitched a little in surprise; she had clearly not noticed him. But when he gave her a reassuring squeeze, her hand relaxed in his grip.

They continued to sit like this for a long time, the setting sun reflecting in their eyes, while Phyllis cries drowned in the soft breeze, finally to die down as the first stars started to appear in the sky. She lay limply in Obelix' arm, overtaken by tiredness. After a while longer, Asterix stood up. "We should go back," he said, a little hoarsely. Obelix nodded and gently picked Phyllis up. She did not even wake up, not even when they started to walk back, and reached the village a little later. Obelix lowered her onto her bed; Asterix pulled the blankets over her. She barely even moved. They went back down in silence.

"I..I need to take Dogmatix out for a walk Asterix," Obelix said, sounding a bit strained. Asterix just smiled and nodded to him. "You do that," he said. "I'll be back soon," Obelix assured him. Asterix smiled again: "I know."

With Obelix gone, the warm feelings that had shielded his previous anger started to fade soon. Asterix felt the need to talk to Getafix, but he did not want to leave Phyllis alone. He got up and climbed upstairs, placing himself on his bedside. He watched Phyllis' face, faintly illuminated by the candle he had put there earlier. The tearstains glinted on her cheeks, and she looked impossibly small in the double bed. The ribbon of her ponytail was stuck under her shoulder, which looked a bit uncomfortable, because it pulled at her hair. He crawled over to her from the other side of the bed, and softly untied the ribbon, pulling the strands of hair free while trying not to wake her. She moved her head, taking a more comfortable position, but she did not wake up. He stroked her jet black hair a few times, which felt surprisingly soft despite being quite tangled. Watching her sleep calmed him again and he started to feel his own exhaustion. His eyes started to close and by the time Obelix came back, Asterix was soundly asleep next to her. Obelix just took the blanket of his best friends' bed to cover him. He shook his head. Despite what Phyllis might think, he knew she could never have made Asterix retreat from this adventure. There was never another option than to support him and protect him, or to die trying. And that was exactly what he intended to do.

_This was incredibly hard to write, despite having pictured it in my mind for months. Especially the part about Marcus and Biancus. I have really looked forward to writing this, but while I was at it, it was still difficult…._


	25. Chapter 25

_I know it took me forever to update this time. Which had partly to do with lack of time….but mostly with my PC mascotte, my dwarf hamster Dropje who was starting to walk difficultly and seemed to lose weight. Two trips to the vet later it seems she has some muscle failure, and possibly is dementing. Which meant she forgot how to do things and every time she wakes up, I help her with things. When this happens during writing, I lose my enthusiasm. _

_But she is still alive and kicking…._

_I think I'm ready to move the story towards some new action soon…._

_Telyra: Thanks for offering me cookies. . Emotions are something I like to write, though it takes me more time than action. That's just telling what I see in my head. I'm hypersensitive, which means I pick up on a lot of emotions and when I write about them, It is not in a distant way….been there, felt that. I feel that there is one thing you need more than physical health, and that's some friends and/or that you can trust and that support you in what you do. Lacking that will make you mentally ill….even if you might not realize it….Of course it is important to be your own friend too, but it helps when someone reminds you that you deserve to be so._

_I have not always been my own friend, and when I write about Phyllis, it sometimes feels like a trip to the past…_

_But right now I'm doing a little joy dance over a newly finished chapter!_

Slowly, very slowly Phyllis became aware of where she was. She felt the soft mattress underneath her, the thick blanket wrapped around her, protecting her from the chilly night air. It was still dark outside, and she felt like turning to the other side to sleep some more. She could not remember a time feeling this drowsy…she had gotten used to a light slumber, to wake up at the smallest sound. To be able also to pull yourself from sleep when nightmares invade it. But now she could barely move. One of her arms was sleeping, and when she tried to open her eyes, they felt thick and blurry. Which caused her to remember….

She shivered and pulled the blanket around her. Concentrating, she rubbed her sleeping arm until the feeling started to return to it.

She had told them…it was never a secret that Marcus and Biancus died and why. But she had never told anyone exactly how. Neither had Marcus father, or any of the soldiers that were among them that day. It had been too hard. Bonny had always been there to listen, but she had never forced it out of Phyllis. She had just held Phyllis close when she was dreaming, reliving moments she could not speak about. Phyllis felt a stab of pain as she thought of her former best friend. Bonny had been there, all those years while Phyllis was seeking revenge. Bonny had always been there, even when Phyllis had succeeded in sending even her own mother away. Right until the moment that had separated them forever. That was how it had felt when Bonny left her to fight for herself. At that moment, her defensive powers failed for the first time, and the last thing she saw before everything turned black, was her beloved horse jumping in front of her and Mesmerons burning eyes.

She knew, now, looking back, that Goliath's action caused her defense to kick back in. They would never have survived if they hadn't. But she remembered nothing but the cold, numb feeling that proceeded that moment.

Unforgivable.

It had become a mantra.

Phyllis had repeated this word in her head a thousand times since she had set foot in Asterix' and Obelix' home. Bonny had always had more faith in Phyllis' healing abilities than she had herself. How could she still cure someone when that faith was gone? And yet this village had made it possible again. Asterix and Obelix, their friends….they had made things return she had believed to be lost forever. Her ability to heal, the chance to touch and ride Goliath again….

She turned to her other side, barely surprised to find the little blonde warrior still asleep next to her, his hand nearly touching her head.

Unspeakable.

Unforgivable.

How come all these words just seemed to lose their meaning whenever she looked at him? For the first time since eight years, she felt protected. She knew that no matter what, she would have to meet Mesmeron again. She also knew that no matter what, she would not be alone this time. She faced the ceiling again, breathing deeply. That knowledge, that ability to trust made her powers flare so much that her hands glowed softly in the dark. But deep down in her chest, darker things stirred. She had required other powers because of Mesmeron. They were burning inside her now, urging her to act.

Phyllis got up silently. Outside it was still dark; she guessed it would be so for a few more hours. They would have to prepare for a confrontation with Mesmeron starting today. How much time would those Romans need to recover? She was not planning on flying solo anymore. It had always been so easy to deceive people, but she wasn't sure she would succeed with Asterix. And she did not want to. But there was one thing she could do that would protect him, without facing Mesmeron directly. She put on a black skirt and top, and with the light of a candle, applied black make-up to her eyes. They were slightly red still, and she looked even paler than usual. Which was perfect. Her black travelling cloak and Goliath were all she needed. She was not going to fight.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Asterix woke up with the timid sound of the rooster sounding faintly in his ears. As if it was afraid to draw attention. It did not feel like morning. The sun was shielded by heavy clouds, and his windows were clapping, making Obelix shift in his sleep. Asterix felt slightly awkward as he sat up. He had fallen asleep next to Phyllis, who was bound to have noticed, because she was no longer there...just where was she then? He heard no sounds downstairs. He got up to secure the windows, and shook Obelix' shoulder on his way. Obelix did not need as much time to wake up as usual. They dressed quickly.

"Seems like a storm is brewing," Asterix said. Even as the words left his mouth, a streak of lightning illuminated the sky, making them both jump in surprise. Thunder followed moments later. Obelix gave him an alarmed look. Asterix did not share his fellow villagers fear of thunderstorms, and normally neither did Obelix. But this felt weird, thunderstorms rarely happened in the morning and it had not been warm either. They carefully stepped outside. Other people were doing the same, crossing the village quickly to go to their chief's house. It was a habit to assemble there if there was a heavy storm. This one was not even that heavy, but it sure came unexpected. Asterix motioned for Obelix to follow. Suddenly, the closed village gates flew open, and a horse and rider entered. Asterix was surprised to feel his own hand fly to his sword immediately. But he did not draw it, because he recognized Phyllis and Goliath, the gates closing behind them in another rush of wind. She stared at him from underneath her cape.

"Where did you go?" He asked, sounding more irritated than he meant to. She motioned towards Vitalstatistix' hut, and turned to bring Goliath to her stable. Which left Asterix and Obelix alone to face the worrying villagers.

"Where is Phyllis?" Even that first question was hard to answer. But Getafix suddenly stepped forward to their leader and told him she would join them soon. Asterix addressed Getafix: "This is quite a strange time to have a thunderstorm, isn't it?" Getafix nodded. "But since Phyllis' powers seem to influence the atmosphere, this one is probably caused by her earlier activities," he added.

"What earlier activities?" Asterix asked, feeling increasingly irritated for having to ask. Apparently Phyllis opening up had not caused her to become more informative. At least not to him.

"I chased the legions of Petibonum and Babaorum,"Phyllis answered, lowering the hat of her cape as she entered. She turned to Vitalstatistix: "They could have been recruited by Mesmeron, it would have been bad for us and for them, but I got to them first." She sounded a little satisfied over her last comment.

"Look Miss," Vitalstatistix started, "Usually we consult the village chief béfore the action, not after."

"You were asleep." Phyllis said simply. "I informed Getafix. It was better to go alone anyway," she glanced at Asterix. "I could not have the risk of them return willingly, and since they could face the lions for not doing so….I had to give them quite a scare." Getafix stepped forward, stopping right next to her, facing Vitalstatistix: "I agreed with her going alone. She's the only one who can really sense Mesmerons' presence, and it was necessary to do this fast. At least he will have just one army, and it needs to recover. It bought us time.

"And if he goes recruiting elsewhere?" Vitalstatistix asked.

"He'll have to go pretty far then," Phyllis said. "Word about the haunted forest will spread with the Romans that fled it." Again, Asterix noticed her grim satisfaction. As she continued her conversation with Vitalstatistix, Asterix studied her. Something was different. The white of her eyes was still slightly red, making her green eyes shine bright. The black makeup around them intensified that effect. He had seen these eyes change color before and after she used her powers. Getafix had just blamed a thunderstorm on those powers. But her eyes did not betray that. They were clear and focused. On him. Suddenly he realized that everybody was looking at him, waiting for an answer on a question he had missed. Getafix saved him: "before we decide what to do next, it might be good have Manilla and Bonny here as well," he said. Asterix glanced at Phyllis, but she did not react.

"I'll go and get them," Impedimenta offered, still looking at Asterix. He nodded, feeling slightly confused. "Uhm, Phyllis, can I have a word with you?" She followed him outside. They walked aimlessly for a minute.

"So, why did you not…" "Wake you up…?" "I just realized that we should have taken Mesmeron's possibility to recruit more people away long before now. But he would have seen it as a provocation, which is probably why I didn't think of it sooner. It does not matter anymore now."

"Ok, but that is not the answer to my question."

"I've gotten used to doing things on my own. Especially things that scare the shit out of people."

"You've told me that already. But it is not that easy to scare me. Or Obelix."

"It wouldn't have been the three of us. Did you not notice how everybody was clinging to you yesterday? You are not the only one trying to protect people." Her eyes softened. "I've never lived in a village before. It feels ….comfy. The forest house was the closest I ever got to that. But before Mesmeron came along, it was a coming and going of people, and for me it was still a school. I was born in Rome, and I lived in Athens until we travelled to the Forest House."

"You can't get much further from a village than that."

Phyllis nodded. "I loved Athens though. But my dad is a doctor. An exceptionally good one. It helps that his wife is a healer….we never had much to fear. It was not like that for others. You know everyone here. We didn't. And Rome values Athens, but it is not a free city. It has the scars to prove it. My dad can't walk past them without having his eyes darkening." It was strange to hear her talk about a past that had nothing to do with their current situation…But it was a welcome change of topic.

"And yet he went to Rome when illness struck there. That does make him a true doctor. Like Getafix, who would probably cure Brutus if he came asking for it…" Asterix said.

They looked at each other. "I would not," Phyllis said. "Guess that makes me a lousy healer."

"Maybe that is not what you are meant to be then."

They arrived at the stables, and Phyllis let Goliath out. They sat down to see the horse run around, chase a dog and returning to nip at some grass near their feet. She looked totally different from the horse Asterix had taken from Philip. Her fur was shiny, and her ears were no longer fixed in her neck.

"You said Brutus…." Asterix looked up. Phyllis was eyeing him, curious. "Why not Julius? I mean, he's the one who placed those camps around your village…."

He realized what she meant. Julius Caesar was supposed to be their number one enemy. And back when the Roman emperor had threatened to take over Notax' village, that had still been unquestionable. In fact, his cousin would probably have asked him the same thing Phyllis just asked, and he would not have been too satisfied with the answer he was going to give.

"Jules has history with us." Asterix said. Phyllis snickered, and he raised an eyebrow. "Jules…" she said, smiling. "If I ever meet him again, I'm soooo going to call him that."

Because Asterix looked confused, she clarified: "My dad went to the palace once, and he took us along…" She hesitated. "Julius Caesar loves his position, and he has a flawed conscience to say the least...but he's a man of his word…I think…" She looked apologetic, "but that's just a first impression…"

"A truthful one…As to why I said Brutus, he burned down our village….that puts him quite low on my list of people worth saving."

It was Phyllis' turn to look surprised. "Burned….but..when?"

"Almost two years ago, because he was trying to get hold of Cleopatra's son, and we were not exactly willing to comply."

"So I guess he was not ordered to do so then." Phyllis guessed. Asterix shook his head.

"Jules had the whole village rebuilt...he had little choice with Cleopatra fuming in his neck, but even if she hadn't been, I think he would have done so."

"That's history, indeed." Phyllis was silent for a while. "So Cleopatra….you must have quite a reputation if she decided to hide her son here."

"We helped to build her a palace once." Phyllis stared at him. Asterix smiled. "I guess that sounds…" Phyllis cut him off. "No, no….Palace, of course. Not weird at all."

"Getafix is friends with an Egyptian architect…who had to build her a palace in three months or serve as dinner for some crocodiles."

"Charming lady." Phyllis remarked.

"It was good motivation," Asterix shrugged.

They continued to chat for a while. Obelix interrupted them to announce Manilla and Bonny's arrival. This time, Phyllis did react, because she barely spoke as they returned the Vitalstatistix' hut. But Asterix' had caught more than a glimpse of how she used to be this time. Talkative…playful even. Someone he felt comfortable with. Someone who would have become a friend. For the first time, he was completely convinced that that person was not lost forever.

_I know in some movies (the live action ones), Obelix seems afraid of lightning as well. But if you read the Asterix and the Soothsayer, Obelix looks just as unfazed by it as Asterix. So no comments about the sky falling down in this story, because I think the villagers will have other things to worry about…._


	26. Chapter 26

_Property of Goscinny and Uderzo_

_I'm not in a coma! I'm studying, enjoying my new pets and the weather, and most of all working! I have so little time to write that I decided to leave the next chapter until I have a weak off, the 20__th__ of June. Because the anticipated moment of the story will be there, and I need more than half an hour before dinner of so to work on it. So in the meantime, this little chapter to let you know that the story is not really on hiatus. I will just need time to make the next chapters worth reading. I'll try to work on them, but I will not post before the 23th of so. Just so you know…_

There had been little to discuss when they had returned to Vitalstatistix' hut a few days ago. A blind man could see it was no use to let Phyllis help defend the village with Manilla and Bonny. There was no trust between them and after the day before, even Asterix started to doubt if that could ever be repaired.

And the magic potion could not fight every trick in the dark sorcerer's book…..they had decided that when the moment came, Phyllis would attack with them, and Manilla had given up trying to make Phyllis refrain from using her dark powers. Asterix knew the old woman was afraid Phyllis was going to lose control, or at least lose her mind and he had to admit that it was not a far-fetched thought. When she had kept silent a few days ago, he wondered if she had changed her mind about her pupil, or if she simply felt they had nothing to lose….He didn't ask.

Manilla and Bonny had taken over the task of teaching the villagers how to defend themselves, while Phyllis launched illusions at them. Most of the time however, she assisted in battle practice, something they did everyday during their fish fights, but that was taken to a whole new level now.

Asterix stood about five meters from her. Her had taken the magic potion, and drawn his sword. He had hardly ever done so the past ten years, and only when he had no access to the potion. He had never, ever, faced a woman with it. But he could use everything in the coming battle, and it was best to get used to that. The sun was high above them, reflecting on the short blade as he turned his sword, and the powerful gleam forced Phyllis to break eye contact. He had noticed that it was harder for her to use her powers when she could not look at her target, much like it was harder to heal if she could not touch.

After he played this trick for the fifth time, Phyllis rolled her eyes. "Ok, it works! Now try something else!"

Asterix smirked: "I guess you could try to ask your enemy to switch tactics, but I doubt it will work."

The now familiar golden shine appeared in Phyllis eyes: "I can be persuasive."

Asterix merely flicked his sword and she cursed. Then she just leapt forward, drawing her own sword, hitting his and leaping back as he got ready.

It was weird to fight someone like her. He had not often fought for his life with a sword, but he had practiced a lot when he was younger, courtesy of his dad, who still remembered fighting without the magic potion.

Phyllis was different. After her first, frustrated strike which almost got him cut with his own blade, she started moving around him, evading his strikes by leaping aside rather than blocking. She did only now and then come close enough to strike herself. When they had first practiced, she had explained that she found it easier to fixate him when there was some distance between them. This had given him the idea to break her gaze. But his technique was less effective when he had to block her punches; he no longer had time to catch the sun on his blade.

They had not actually hit each other all morning. Asterix though that breaking the laws of courtesy once was enough no matter how much Phyllis was nagging him about it. "Good for us that Mesmeron knows nothing about courtesy and fair play; he could spare himself preparing an trained army. Just round op some helpless damsels, they would be more effective than the first legion of "Jules" himself."

Asterix fiercely hoped that she would never find out how close to the truth that was. Meanwhile, she returned his courtesy, not out of good manners, but because they could expect an attack any moment now. Many of the other villagers were watching them…anything to keep them occupied and not have their thoughts focus on the fear that inevitably loomed around the village. Perhaps it was what kept Phyllis and Asterix going for longer than was wise, until they had to catch their breath and rest. Doing nothing was harder than anything else.

Still, they needed to be careful. Being exhausted would not help when it came to an attack.

After half an hour, they rested in the shadows of a tree, looking at Getafix hut, that was illuminated with a pale blue light. Strange, foreign smells reached their noses. Asterix had been curious before, but he had lost his interest. With Bonny and Manilla around, Getafix did not need his assistance, and his questions even less. Phyllis avoided both woman like the plague outside the training moments, but she was also studying the faint light. When Bonny suddenly came out of the door, Phyllis looked away, fixing Asterix eyes as if she was going to talk to him. But she didn't. Bonny gave him a short look, and passed by them quickly. He knew she had tried to apologize, but Phyllis had fled from her each time she tried. When she had just arrived in the village, she had at least been able to talk about her former friend. But now….

"Can you really leave it this way Phyllis?" Asterix asked as soon as Bonny was gone?

She stared at the ground. "Leave what?"

"Can you go into another battle with Mesmeron without knowing what she thinks." He knew this was a very touchy subject, but his village safety was at stake. "Without knowing what she will do when thing get difficult? Do you even know what you are going to do?"

She looked at him, intensely. "I know what I'm going to do. It does not matter what she will do. Not anymore. Manilla will try to stay out of Mesmerons grasp until the end. Bonny will stick with her until the end. Since they are both in the village, it will be protected until the end."

"But….." Phyllis cut him off… "They might have involved your village, but you breaking the curse Mesmeron put on me and Goliath is what will make Mesmeron want to destroy you. Which makes keeping you safe my responsibility, not theirs. So I know what to do."

The sharpness in her voice indicated that this was not a subject to go further into. Even if it made him feel pampered, he knew there was no way to reason her out of this. He understood her to well to even try. But he knew this persuasion of her that she had to protect him first frustrated her. She would once more be torn between trying to protect and what she really wanted: vengeance. To stop Mesmeron forever in the most painful way possible….She did not have to tell him, he saw it in the way her eyes darkened from time to time when they were fighting…when she saw not him but the enemy he was impersonating at that moment.

There was no use arguing about it. He could not stay out of harm's way, no matter how much she wanted it. And she never asked. He would protect his village by fighting, and she would help him. There was no other possibility.

That night, when Manilla and Bonny had done their last tour of the village, memorizing every corner to be able to protect the entirety of the village, when everyone was back in his hut, Phyllis would retrace their steps to make the same mental map. Every day she stayed in the village with his village with its colorful inhabitants, it became less and less something she did for Asterix' sake. No matter how much she tried to prevent it, she was starting to care.


	27. Chapter 27

_Réné Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's property forever. You know the drill. "Oh no, not the drill!" (In case that makes no sense, I'm sort of obsessing over the movie Megamind at the moment…..)_

_Some action coming right up!_

_P.S. Thanks for pointing out errors. However, unless they hurt the plot, I'm going to edit them after finishing the story, because I like to advance with it! Plus, I'm sure there are a lot more things to correct…..I would like to do them as much as once as I can._

_P.S.S beta-readers are also welcome of course ._

The next day, the sun was hidden behind thick clouds. A fierce wind blew, and not even the wooden palisades of the village seemed to lessen it much.

"Serves you right for trusting the elements," Phyllis smirked at Asterix.

She was in a good mood, which felt odd, since they had woken up to Bonny knocking on Asterix' door. Apparently, Getafix and Manilla had been working all night. The result was that the magic potion would last for almost a day know, without risking any overdose. The other thing they had accomplished, a few days before, was to take away the side effects of using the magic potion together with the brew that Getafix had used to help Histrionix and Melodrama. And that particular potion was adapted too, for it no longer caused memory loss. It could help to heal the injured, allowing Bonny and Manilla to focus on protecting the village.

In all, those were striking results. But Getafix and Manilla needed their rest, and that was why Bonny was in Asterix'hut. Normally she and Manilla walked the entire palisade every morning, just like Phyllis did at night. She had explained to him that it helped to get a defense up very quickly, knowing each and every corner of the area you wanted to protect.

"I will not help you with that defense." Phyllis had said. "Manilla can hold it on her own, and so can you."

Bonny had nodded. "I understand. But I don't want to believe that. I want to know it."

Phyllis had stared at her for a while. "Try to break it." Bonny had said. "If you can't, I know Mesmeron cannot either. He cannot possibly hit me harder than you. He does not know me well enough."

Phyllis had agreed, much to Asterix initial dislike. If anything could have damaged their relation further, it was this. But it had turned out differently. Phyllis had not broken Bonny's defense, and both seemed to think that was more important than anything that had surfaced during the fight.

All in all, despite the grim weather, things looked brighter than they had in days, and Asterix smiled back at Phyllis. "I'll find another trick, don't you worry."

"I sincerely doubt that," an icy voice cut through the air, startling everyone around them. Asterix turned around wildly, almost bumping into Phyllis, who was suddenly right in front of him. Her eyes were pitch-black. Obelix followed seconds later, the three of them looking but not seeing anyone. The rest of the villagers had gathered at Getafix'hut, and Bonny and Manilla held up their defense around the village. Asterix saw neither of them, but he could see the palisade faintly glowing from the powers that were projected onto it. Something that would help very little if….

"He's not here…" Phyllis whispered. Just as she spoke, a form appeared a short distance in front of them.

"Nice to see you, Phyllis." The icy voice rang again, its owner now clearly recognizable. "Though once again you stand in my way. I wonder why. You are free to go." Mesmeron irked his head in Goliaths' direction. "You even got transport."

Goliath had not reacted. Asterix realized that the horse could not see Mesmeron. Phyllis was right. He was not physically in the village. Judging from Phyllis' reaction, that did not necessarily mean he could do no harm.

"It is polite to greet old acquaintances of course, my dear. But I'm not here for you." Mesmeron smiled, but his eyes flashed dangerously.

"You're not here at all," she retorted through gritted teeth.

The image hovered closer. "But I will be….and I expect you to be gone by then."

Asterix had stepped from behind her, now standing next to her, and Mesmerons' eyes drifted over to him. The image became less transparent at once, and Mesmerons' expression darkened. But when he spoke again, it was Phyllis he addressed.

"I do not appreciate interference….but it seems it was not you who played that part this time. I'm sure that returning you your horse was displayed as a favor. Treat it like one. Do not make the mistake of protecting people who would not have spared you a second glance if they did not need you…we both know how that turned out."

Asterix looked sideward for Phyllis' reaction, but she did not even flinch. Suddenly she moved, and for a startled moment, he thought she was taking Mesmerons' advice, but she was leaping upwards into Cacofonix' hut. He saw her shaking her head from the platform, indicating that there were no troops in the fields surrounding the village.

"As I said, I will be here soon," Mesmerons' image was now fully focused on the little warrior. "Up to you to decide whether you want 'here' to be this charming little village."

Phyllis appeared again, behind Mesmerons' image, motioning to Asterix to keep silent. It was quite unnecessary, because the image had started to fade and was gone completely in a matter of seconds.

Asterix turned to her, the other gathering around them.

"Why is he doing this?" he asked. "He has to know you won't leave, even if you didn't want…"

Phyllis rolled her eyes, "Yeah, because going home to my parents and sister, who I haven't seen for the last like eight years, that would be completely ridiculous."

"Of course it isn't but…."

"But I won't because I want to see Mesmeron die more than I want to see them." She shook her head. "Do not expect Mesmeron to understand that. Make sure he DOESN'T. That why you can't talk to him, Asterix, because he will use everything he knows about you against you. He was not looking for answers, but for reactions."

Manilla stepped closer: "But not just that….he knows this fight will become more difficult with Phyllis around. Last time she could not defeat him, but he was certainly weakened."

Phyllis turned to her: "I can let him think I left." "He'll know you didn't," Manilla said, dismissively.

"But it would irritate him. Anger focused on different people is less strong. So I'm doing it anyway," Phyllis said simply, earning her an irritated sigh from Bonny.

Phyllis turned to Asterix and glanced up at Vitalstatistix. "What about the second part? He wants to take this confrontation outside the village….."

"Why?" Vitalstatistix asked.

"Manilla and Bonny can protect the village much better than the fields," Asterix said.

"If they have to divide their attention between the field and the village, it is a matter of time before he breaks through," Phyllis said.

"So I should just let all my warriors stand behind the gate? Let the most dangerous battle they have ever faced be right in front of their wives and children? How long before Mesmeron hurts them?"

Phyllis shrugged. "I understand. But you're not facing a roman army that takes out warriors first, that plays by the rules. If he strikes somewhere, it might be the village anyway. That's what I expect him to do."

Her words caused everyone to freeze. They were not afraid to go out and fight, but if that did not ensure safety to the village, at least temporarily, what was the point?

"Are you…"Asterix began. "…Sure?" Phyllis completed for him. "No, of course not."

Vitaltstatistix looked grim: "We will stay here. If any soldiers approach, we will head out and fight them, and you will come along," he pointed to Phyllis. He turned to Manilla and Bonny: "The village is your priority at all times. My warriors can handle themselves."

They both nodded stiffly.

Before the last of the villagers had had their share of magic potion, Cacofonix called out that an army was approaching the village. They finished quickly, and left their village, now shielded by Bonny and Manilla, behind them.

Phyllis and Goliath disappeared before Asterix had the chance to talk to her. He did not like her plan of irritating Mesmeron one bit. "Assuming she actually comes back, Geriatrix had piped up, when Asterix had voiced his thoughts. He had glared at the old man, but many other villagers seemed to share Geriatrix' doubts.

"She will be back," Bonny had cut in. "Let's just hope it will be for the right reasons," she added in a whisper, lost to everyone but Manilla, who stood right next to her.

Still, as Asterix and the others approached the army, Phyllis was nowhere to be seen. This time, he felt no outside influence pulling at his mind. Phyllis had predicted Mesmeron might not try so this time, since they had ultimately overcome it in the previous fight. She anticipated him changing tactics, and it seemed she was right, because Mesmerons' hold over the army was almost tangible. The Romans fought fiercely, despite their empty eyes. They seemed able to predict every move that was made in battle, making the power of the magic potion less absolute then it normally was. The Romans fought more organized than Asterix had ever experienced, and what was worse, sneakier as well. He barely had time to overlook the battle as a whole because it soon became clear that the soldiers were told to focus on him.

Luckily, the other villagers realized it too, and after a while, Mesmerons' approach started to work against him. Since the Romans were focusing on Asterix, the others were in less danger, and had more time to organize, taking out the Romans one by one without suffering too much damage of their own.

After some time, the battle seemed to turn in their favor. But Asterix had just barely avoided a spear thrown in his direction, Obelix stopping another one, when he noticed the weather was changing. Out of nowhere, fog appeared, seemingly gradually, but far too quick to be natural. Soon he could barely see more than 5 meters in front of him. He heard something soar through the air, but did not see the knife before Phyllis jumped in front of him, and it plunged into the roman shield she was holding up.

"Where's Goliath?" he asked. "Back at the village," Phyllis whispered. They formed a triangle, backs toward each other; Phyllis' appearance caused the Romans to focus on her as much as on Asterix. The battle seemed to quiet down though. Asterix was about to punch a Roman a few meters in front of him, when his limbs blocked. He fell face first to the ground, hitting it painfully.

"What the hell are you doing," he heard Obelix scream, and as Asterix looked sideways, he saw Phyllis hand stretched out in his direction. Obelix was running towards her, but Asterix scrambled to his feet and stopped his friend, who had not seen the look of pure terror on Phyllis' pale face. She seemed oblivious to both of them, eyes locked on the roman that he had been about to punch. The man had slowed down, as baffled by her reaction as they were. His confusion seemed to lessen Mesmerons' spell over him.

Suddenly, there was a small clearing in the fog and Mesmeron himself became visible, smirking at them. An image or real, it was hard to tell with the fog surrounding him, but he smiled at Asterix as they locked eyes, and the roman changed appearance.

Asterix and Obelix saw what had rendered Phyllis motionless. The roman was no longer armed, still in his army outfit, but without actual armor or helmet. His black curls were a bit too long for a soldier on duty, and his dark eyes pictured confusion. He was moving towards Phyllis, and Asterix slid in front of her, realizing who he was looking at. He vaguely heard hooves approach from behind, and then running. Just as Phyllis however, Bonny stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the illusion.

"Marcus," she whispered.

Right in front of her stood someone she believed, no, knew to be dead. And yet he approached them, cautiously, but stepping forward until he was less than a meter from Asterix.

Bonny focused with all her might, clinging to a memory she had tried to push away for eight years. She had liked Marcus. Not like Phyllis, who had always seemed to drink in his words when he visited the Forest House. But she had enjoyed his stories and his visits as much as the other girls. Biancus and Marcus meant a break from their usual routine, and for Bonny, who lived there even during holidays, that was at least as enjoyable as for Phyllis.

She had insisted upon seeing them before they were buried. It had been the most horrifying thing she had ever seen, but she clung to the image now, and Marcus' face faded, revealing the Romans' moss green eyes, fixed in determination as he flung forward the sword she had not seen up till now. It swayed towards Asterix and she yelped in fear, leaping forward to pull him back.


	28. Chapter 28

_Disclaimer: Not my characters of course._

_I took a long time to update after the previous cliffhanger, and it is mainly because I find this part quite hard to write. Especially Phyllis and Mesmerons powers. Phyllis power and the amount of power she has is linked with her emotions, that part is clear to me, but knowing how she will react and describing it accurately are two different things._

Chapter 28

Bonny realized with horror she would not reach Asterix in time. Her scream did not seem to reach him either. But Phyllisd leapt forward and drove her sword through the roman's chest. Bonny gasped.

Only when the blade hit his feet, Asterix saw the sword that the roman had been holding. Marcus image disappeared, his dark eyes replaced by the terrified ones of the mouse-haired man who was falling to his knees without a sound. Disbelieving, he stared down at his chest. Phyllis fierce grip on the heft that now protruded from it kept him from crumbling to the ground. She drew shuddering breaths, but she was still fixing the Romans' face with wide eyes.

Asterix' shock over seeing the sword that almost pierced him was quickly replaced by the painful realization that Phyllis was still staring at Marcus. Bonny grabbed his shoulder, looking at him helplessly but before they could do something, Phyllis face darkened. She tightened her grip on the blade, put one foot against the roman's chest and pulled back. This time, he did scream. The sound drowned out all the remaining battle sounds around them. Bonny felt the agony in it and she pressed her hands against her ears in attempt to drive away the sound and the pain that it filled her with.

Phyllis closed her eyes, knowing that when she opened them again, Marcus would be as gone as he had been for the past eight years. She knew he was an illusion, but she had not wanted to make him go away. Mesmeron had almost succeeded. Almost. But she had heard the romans sword swing through the air, and it had made her act out her worst nightmare. It felt different. She did not feel the shock or horror that overwhelmed her when she watched Marcus die by her hand in her dreams. She felt nothing but blinding rage. She turned to the others, not even bothering to see if the illusion was really gone.

They were staring at the man who lay dying at her feet with wide eyes. Asterix was the first to meet her eyes and she saw him flinch. "Back to the village," she breathed.

Phyllis' voice sounded like a snarl, and she looked nothing like Asterix had ever seen her. He had thought he had seen her enraged. He was wrong. His eyes traveled to the sword she held, the blood trickling onto her hand from the blade. Her eyes were not merely black, they burned with rage that was desperate to come out.

Bonny cringed at Phyllis' words. Back to the village meant leaving the man in front of her to die. But to save him would have drained all her powers, even if Phyllis had not pulled back the sword. But she had. Bonny blinked. Phyllis had made it easier for her to live with what she had thought she would never do.

"We need to go," Bonny turned her back to the dying man and tried to make Asterix move, but the magic potion was still active, and he was immobile. He did look at her though.

"You want to leave her like that?" he asked, staring at Phyllis.

Bonny looked at her too. The fog around them was shifting towards Phyllis, gathering around her hands. Soon they would be able to see Mesmeron, and he would be able to see them. She made her decision.

"If we don't go now, we'll be dead before she needs us."

Asterix realized that she was right. He had been within a second of dying twice the past few minutes, and he would have if Phyllis had not been there. But she seemed to no longer see them now, consumed by the rage that made her powers flare dangerously. And so he nodded to Obelix, and they too did something they had never thought they would.

They ran.

The air burst as they reached the village gates, when Phyllis pushed the fog around her hands forward. It raged over the fields. The other warriors retreated at full speed, and the remaining Romans were blown of their feet.

The field went completely silent. Bonny joined Manilla again, and the shield around the village became visible again. Asterix noticed it did not prevent the other warriors from returning to the village, and he hoped the same would go for Phyllis. He ran towards Cacofonix' hut. Even from up there, it was hard to distinguish Phyllis as the shield became more solid than he had ever seen it. Soon, he could do nothing but guess what was happening on the other side.

Phyllis smirked as she felt the protection around the village rise to unknown heights. Her dark eyes stayed focused on Mesmeron, who was now about 20 meters away. He held his staff without actually leaning on it and he had stopped moving towards her. Apparently he had guessed her current state well enough. For someone who Manilla claimed had no emotions, who knew no love or hate, he knew how to toy with them well enough. But his plan had backfired, and they were now face to face, with the village beyond his reach. The situation she had hoped to create years ago, was lying open in front of her and the buzz in her ears was so loud she did not even hear his words, trying to lure her. Her powers soared towards him like lightning, and he had to raise his staff quickly, redirecting her attack, not towards her, but the shield around the village behind them.

"What is she doing?" Bonny asked, her brown eyes wide as Phyllis' powers hit the shield she was holding up with Manilla. "Is she attacking?"

Asterix shook his head in irritation. "Why on earth, would she do that? She asked you to do this didn't she?"

Bonny looked back at him with equal irritation. "Weren't you there just moments ago? Didn't Mesmeron just make her attack you? Why wouldn't he be able to make her attack…."

"She didn't attack me," Asterix said frustrated, and when he saw Obelix look doubtful as well, he added "She just stopped me."

"And you did", Obelix said, "But what if you hadn't? If that old guy wasn't such a show-off, showing us what she saw, you would have tried to stop that Roman and….."

"There is no point to all those 'if's', Obelix, it didn't happen."

Bonny looked worried…"What if she tries to get back in? Maybe…."

"Enough!" Manilla said, squeezing her eyes shut in order not to lose concentration as she spoke: "Asterix is right, enough with all the "if's". We have to hold this shield no matter what is happening on the outside. That is what she wanted from us and we are going through with it."

Phyllis turned from the shield to Mesmeron, furious.

"There there, dear, did you expect me to play fair? You should know better by now. Especially since you started this little game, I get to twitch the rules. Speaking of which, why haven't you gone home? Do the people behind there mean more to you than your mummy and daddy? I guess not, since you let them go against my will. Don't kid yourself my little raven. You're not one of them."

She lashed out again, but this time with a powerful hush of wind, and Mesmeron swirled through it, until he was far closer to her.

"Good, good, but not as good as me. You could be though. What are you afraid of, Phyllis? The word evil ? Power is not evil. Getting what you want is not evil."

Phyllis saw him get closer, staff held in front of him. Getting it from him would even the odds, she was sure. It seemed to emanate power, as if Mesmeron used it to stock power. He had gained others' power by force. Maybe it was easier to control them this way? Because she was struggling against her power constantly, holding back because she was not sure if they would still be aimed at him if she didn't.

She leapt forward to strike the staff with the bloody sword. For a moment, Mesmeron seemed startled. He had not predicted she would do this. For the first time, he looked angry and a second later, it felt like one of Obelix' fists pounded her. She flew back like a ragdoll for almost ten meters before she could slow herself down, and her vision blurred from pain. But it was a purely physical attack, and Mesmeron let her recover. She knew it was not an act of mercy….he had always been reluctant to kill her. In fact, he had only tried once. She was not surprised he hesitated now. She incorporated the very thing he wanted…the power to heal, without all the peaceful attitude around her. He had to learn from her before. Even without her around, it seemed he had gotten closer to his goal. He was able to deflect her attacks as she launched at him again. As if he too could shield himself.

It did not matter…all you needed for that was the strong wish to defend. To heal, you needed more than to want injuries cured. You needed to focus on live, on growth, on improvement. For Bonny that was enough, but Phyllis, her powers failed or peaked with the room she had left in her heart. Mesmerons' ability to defend himself with his powers proved something. He did not need to acquire healing power; if he could have the right mindset, he would have it. Which meant that no matter what, he never would. It was the most comforting thought she had had in a long time.

There was another idea tugging at her mind, but it refused to become clear with Mesmeron now sending images of the village behind her burning to the ground behind the still present shield. She knew it was an illusion. But it made her anger flare again. She was just a testing object, being dissected in an attempt to discover her secrets. She let her emotions reign, creating a powerful whirlwind around her, that swept her up from the ground and allowed her to look down on Mesmeron. He seemed to see her amount of focus on him as at least a little threatening, because he leveled with her, sending a wave of lightning her way. It twirled around her, instead of hitting her, and she grinned. Mesmeron had just taught her a new trick….even though she was angry as hell, she could fend of his attack. Mesmerons eyes narrowed dangerously when he too realized that he was not getting any information out of this battle, but she definitely gained some from him. He closed his eyes for a second and right before she redirected the lightning towards him, he made the wind around her fall.

Phyllis hit the ground full force, not even half expecting this to happen. The lightning bounced against the shield around the village and hit a large tree that immediately caught fire.

She was hurting. But even though he had caught her by surprise, she had surprised him as well, however briefly. There had been a sliver of a chance for the odds to turn in her favor, and it brought her back to her feet.

Bonny's frustration increased. They all heard the intense battle that was going on, without having the slightest idea of what was going on. All she knew was that Mesmeron himself had not tried to break the shield yet, and it worried her because it meant he was focusing on Phyllis. Her need to know, to see, lessened her hold on the shield, and after a few times, Manilla and Asterix stopped commenting on it. The Gaul was straining to see beyond the shield himself, and when it became more transparent, it felt too much like a relief to make Bonny reinforce it again. She heard some murmuring in the crowd below Cacofonix hut, but no one asked her to stop.

Still, the battle was hard to follow and it was not clear who got the upper hand.

"This is insane," Obelix said suddenly. "Why by Belenos are we here, while the battle is going on THERE?"

The same question had been ringing in Asterix' head from the moment they had passed the village gates. It was a relief to hear it being said out loud, and he turned to Getafix, who seemed to be pondering it as well. "Well", the druid said after a moment "If…" He was interrupted by a cry of surprise from Bonny and they flipped around to see that Mesmerons' last blow has launched Phyllis into the air, and that she was now falling down towards the shield around the village.

_Another cliffhanger, oops. Anyway, I won't torture Asterix with watching from the sidelines any longer. Well, I will, but only until I have written the next part._


	29. Chapter 29

_Asterix is not mine, but Goscinny's Uderzo's and let's not forget Mébarki and Ferri, to whom I wish the best of luck_

Phyllis Chapter 29

It was clear from Bonny's panicked look that hitting the shield would be like hitting the ground for Phyllis. Asterix turned to Obelix, determined to prevent her from crashing.

"Bonny!

Manilla's voice was shrill and disbelieving.

"What! I can't let her crash!" Bonny shouted back.

Asterix looked back and saw that there was a hole in the transparent shield. Phyllis would fall through. But that would not keep her from crashing into the ground. He dashed downstairs from Cacafonix' hut, running forward at full speed. Just as she passed the shield though, Phyllis came to, moving her hands behind her in an attempt to slow down her fall. She moved to a standing position, hitting the ground feet first and sliding backwards through the sand. After coming to a standstill, she collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Her clothes were frayed and smoking, as was her hair, loose from its ponytail.

Before Bonny could close the shield, Mesmeron got through, looking immensely satisfied. He focused on the panting girl below him and aimed his staff at her as soon as he reached the ground. Phyllis barely seemed to notice him.

Realizing that directly attacking Mesmeron was suicide, Asterix did the first thing he could think of. He grabbed his chief's shield, which send Vitalstatistix tumbling to the ground. Asterix dashed forward to Phyllis, putting the shield in between them and Mesmeron . The lightning-like power hit the shield so forcefully that he was thrown off his feet despite the magic potion. He landed right next to Phyllis. The shield went scorching hot and crumbled, but the spell itself was redirected to Mesmeron, who barely avoided it. Phyllis stared at Asterix in complete disbelief. First he thought this was because he had come to help her, but Mesmeron mimicked her expression for a moment, before his eyes turned into angry slits.

Asterix understood they were surprised the shield had redirected the spell Mesmeron sent at him like it did. Regardless of why it had worked, he could not pull this trick twice. The shield was gone. He grasped behind him, trying to get hold of Phyllis and head to safety. Instead, he felt her grasping him tightly, her slender arms closing around his chest and her face pressing against his back. Mesmeron's second attack bounced off the most solid defensive wall he had seen up till now. Phyllis had formed a bubble close around them, completely blocking his view on what happened outside. Mesmeron attacked it fiercely, but the sound of his attacks barely reached them and the shield did not budge. Asterix' worries over what would happen if the shield suddenly didn't hold died down quickly when he realized Mesmeron's attacks did not even strain it. If anything, it became more solid. Asterix felt like being underwater, the adrenaline of the battle slipping away rapidly. Phyllis breathing became more regular, but she did not loosen her grip on him.

For a while they didn't speak. But when he no longer heard any sounds of what happened outside, Asterix got agitated. Phyllis seemed willing to drown out whatever was going on, but he was not.

"Phyllis…"

She did not answer, but gripped him even tighter. She knew what he was about to say. And she disagreed. He sighed. He was not the only one who would once again be in danger when she lessened the shield. But Mesmeron had not even been able to scratch it. Which was too much of a sign to ignore. The fight they needed to fight was not bound to be a losing one.

"Can't you see what you just did? If you're strong enough to resist him like that, you're certainly strong enough to beat him. Bonny just saved your life. Don't you want to protect her?"

"She'll stay out of harm's way. You won't."

He couldn't promise her he wouldn't. Not with Mesmeron's full determination to destroy him and a village to protect. Somewhere this turn of events baffled him. He knew she felt she owed him and that she would try to protect him, but he had never anticipated she would simply pull him out of the battle. He had never expected her prepared to give up her attack. Seeing her will to protect him reflected in the powerful shield around them was almost painful.

But his friends could be dying. Obelix….A sudden rush of panic went through him. His will to protect his friends was not less strong than hers to protect him. He knew by now this meant he could get free if he wanted, but he needed her to understand first.

"Phyllis….please don't force me to let…..to let my friends die."

Her arms trembled, and she let him go. The shield disappeared at once, not even fading before it was completely gone. It left him in a daze that slipped away quickly when he saw Obelix throwing a menhir at Mesmeron, who was attacking Cacofonix' hut. Mesmeron sidestepped it easily, but his spell did not hit the hut either. Apparently Manilla and Bonny were still inside.

"Well well, I see Phyllis has managed to let go of her toy," Mesmeron mocked as he spotted Asterix. "Apparently…" He was interrupted as Phyllis aimed at him and effectively threw him off his feet. Before she could hit him again, he forced her to duck out of the way of a wave of fire directed at her.

"Seems I hit a nerve." He said, smirking as he got back up. For a moment, Asterix did not see Phyllis, but then he spotted her somewhat behind Mesmeron, pulling something from inside her vest and throwing it at him. The tiny sharp blade pierced Mesmerons leg, who howled in pain. He clearly had not anticipated a physical attack.

"Seems I hit a leg," Phyllis smirked.

Mesmerons growled, but instead of aiming at Phyllis, he sent another wave of fire towards Vitalstatistix' hut. The roof caught fire, and everyone who had gathered in it ran out in panic.

His second attack was on Cacofonix' hut. Manilla and Bonny blocked it, but the shield around the village disappeared in their effort to do so. A bunch of beaten up soldiers ran in, starting the attack on the villagers that were now running all over the village.

"That's what you get for letting them live," Phyllis bit at Asterix before running towards the mage. She put up a shield of fire around both her and Mesmeron, closing it around them.

"Well that won't last long," Bonny panted, sliding to a stop next to Asterix. He looked at her for an explanation. "Well, magic or no magic, fire drains oxygen. They won't be in there for long. But I suppose it's easier than a protective shield when you're as pissed off as she probably is right now." Asterix frowned.

They both went on their way, Bonny shielding people wherever she could, Asterix joining Obelix and doing what they did best: beating up Romans. True to what Bonny said, the fire around Mesmeron and Phyllis vanished after some time, leaving them both panting too much to fight each other. Phyllis recovered somewhat sooner, but there was no time to aim for Mesmeron as some soldiers came up to her.

Asterix had barely noticed Mesmeron before he hit Cacafonix' hut again, this time striking the tree it leaned on and sending it down, towards an unaware Unhygienix who was fighting some of the last soldiers still able to move. Obelix caught the tree, flinching as he caught it, because it was quite hot from the lightning-like spell. Asterix grabbed Unhygienix and pulled him away, so Obelix could let go of the tree. Obelix launched it towards Mesmeron, but it shattered before it hit him.

They needed a plan.

Asterix turned to talk to Obelix and doing so he spotted Mesmeron again, aiming his next spell at Bonny. She was forming a shield around Getafix' hut, where some of the children and women were now gathered.

The magic potion allowed him to be there in time and push her out of reach. But just as Asterix turned towards the mage, he struck again. The spell hit Asterix straight in the chest.

He hit an invisible field that locked him in the air a few meters high, but he was not aware of anything but the excruciating pain of the spell that burned his chest. He was on fire. At the same time images appeared. He heard Obelix scream and saw the spell hitting him as well, hitting the villagers next. He screamed too, unable to move or think, but in utter horror and pain.

Obelix scream tore right through the sounds of battle, wind and fire. Phyllis knew what it meant before she saw it and her insides froze. The rage she fed on turned to ice-cold fear. She saw Obelix trying to get hold of his friend desperately, but Mesmerons' power around Asterix was so strong even Obelix could not break it. She tried to attack Mesmeron, but her power had frozen with her rage. Desperate, she ran towards Mesmeron, jumping against him and knocking him out of balance. He fell, and as he did, the attack was redirected towards the force that hit him, sending Phyllis flying.

Asterix fell, and Obelix grabbed him. The remains of the spell ran through his hands but he did not feel it. Asterix twisted and turned in his arms, and Obelix had no idea what to do.

"Obelix! OBELIX!" Bonny was tugging his arm, but he did not feel it. He only noticed her when the shield she put up around them seemed to cool the air.

"Put him down, Obelix, please!"

In a haze of tears, he looked at her, seeing her hands alight and suddenly remembering that those hands meant healing, meant a chance for survival. He put Asterix down as gently as he could and she moved towards him, putting her hands on his chest. She winced at the pain that hit her hands, but narrowed her eyes and pressed harder. Ra ge filled her and instead of this new feeling weakening her, it seemed to feed her. Mesmeron would not win again, this time she would rather die herself than to let it happen.

Phyllis squinted, and saw nothing but blurry images. Mesmeron lying down, but moving, trying to get up. Where Asterix had been, there was a blue light…Bonny. Phyllis had seen people killed by Mesmerons' final attack, but Bonny would not try to heal a dead person….there was hope. Still, that shield drained some of the power she would need soon. Phyllis tried to move, but felt she couldn't. Too dazed to stand, let alone walk, she fell back down. Things became more and more dark, and she thought she was fainting, but then she felt a familiar power behind the darkness. She closed her eyes and helped Manilla turn day to night.

_Last week, On Thursday the 19__th__ of June 18, 18h15 day turned to night at Kiewit, home to the festival Pukkelpop. In less than a quarter of an hour, a local thunderstorm with an unseen force blew over the site, causing for deaths and many severly injured. All the good preparations and safety measurements that have withstood without waiver in the past were now in vain. 15 minutes of hell left 70.000 festival participants bewildered and scared. I wasn't amongst them. I was amongst that half a million of worried ones, who tried to reach their loved ones for hours._

_I feel like there are two people that, if I ever lost them, would make me fall beyond recovery. Whose life I would trade for my own, because there is no dawn without them. One of them was there when the tables turned. And it made me to wish to be there, more than anything I've ever wished for. _

_We are always full of wishes for the future. It keeps us going, aiming. It keeps us truly alive. But sometimes we overlook the value of simply another day. To have one of those, and many after that, makes me more blessed than anything that could ever come my way._


	30. Chapter 30

_Uderzo and Goscinny own the universe of Asterix. Until the next album appears, and I will have to extend that statement._

_I am getting closer to the end of the story! Maybe two or three more? In between two evening classes and my job it is really hard to find time and the right set of mind, but I'm still proud of this chapter. I finally got to write a scene that have been picturing since I started the story. Thanks for bearing with me to get it finished!_

Phyllis Chapter 30

Phyllis slowly regained sense of more than the darkness around her. It was not pleasant. She was hurt, scratched and burnt. But most of all she was tired. She had not taken Asterix' last words to her kindly, but she had acted on them. Feeling that she had indeed stood a chance against Mesmeron today. Still, it seemed to come down to the same it always did. She was fighting for something, and it weakened her. Was she weaker because she had not given up her capacity to heal? She had wondered about it. But even without those powers, if she defeated Mesmeron by giving up on everyone around her, what was the point? Then she could just have left, they would have ended up no different. Today she had realized that her powers were just tools, they did not determine her.

Asterix had shielded her without healing powers, just because he didn't have them, did not mean he fought without losing sight of those he battled for. Phyllis' mind drifted to the small warrior….She felt Bonny's focus on him, and Manilla trying to reach Bonny….Manilla secured the villagers, or at least most of them, because she felt the confusion of a few of them that were running around in the darkness. Why was it that it became so easy in this self-created darkness, to feel things she had struggled to focus on even before she had ever heard on Mesmeron? She rolled over to see a faint light in the distance, and she knew Bonny was going to give herself away soon. She also knew that Bonny would not fight for a lost life. She respected the nature of things too much to do so. There was a hope, and a reason to continue fighting. Soon Phyllis would need to shield Bonny, or Mesmeron would get to her while she was defenseless. But there would be no one left to go after him if she did.

Which made it all pointless; Mesmeron would still win in the end.

Goliath's soft nose touched her cheek. Phyllis reached out to her and pulled herself to a sitting position. Goliath kept touching her. She wanted action from of her.

Manilla's words. She had said something about Goliath. She had thought Phyllis had transferred her healing powers to the horse. Which she hadn't. She had not even known it was possible. If the distance between them had not been so big, she would have asked Manilla about it right away. Manilla seemed to think Phyllis would want to cast her healing powers aside, but even now, when it seemed to form a solution, it scared her. She had experienced what it was like not to have that backup, and it certainly did not encourage her to go pick a fight with Mesmeron without them. If she failed now, it would be over.

Still, she held her horses' head between her hands and focused. After a while the dark around them lifted a little, and she saw the glow in Goliath's eyes. It was not as hard as she had believed it would be, but there was more to this than transferring her powers. Goliath had jumped in front of Phyllis once, wanting to protect her. Since Phyllis' powers were directed by will, she was quite sure they would work for Goliath as well. But how to tell her horse what to do? She could send her to Bonny, she would go to her. But would her horse, known as difficult and even aggressive, protect someone other than Phyllis herself? Bonny? Asterix? Obelix? She had known Bonny longest, and her friend had treated Goliath with the soft kindness she applied to everyone. But Bonny had kept her distance from the horse, respecting, but never truly grasping the fondness Phyllis felt for her. Most importantly, Phyllis had resented Bonny for three solid years, and part of her still did. Phyllis focused on Asterix instead. She had fought with him as well, but Goliath had followed him to her, and she prayed that her horse somewhere carried some of the gratitude she herself felt for that. She pictured the moment Asterix got hit by Mesmerons' spell. She had no time to collect her emotions about that, only one message that she tried to get through to Goliath: 'Please do not let it happen again!' She looked into the horses' eyes, unable know if the message got through. But if she had to start trusting again; Goliath was the best place to start for her.

The darkness was really lifting now. Phyllis stroked Goliath's head with both hands, realizing that this could be goodbye. She felt oddly at peace with it; Goliath was carrying part of her with her. They would never be truly separated again. After one last caress, she sent the horse away. Goliath went at once, and it gave Phyllis courage. She would not get a better indication that Goliath had understood her than this.

Bonny was exhausted. Her hands trembled, and she had long given up hope to shield her and Asterix. She looked at the warrior, too dazed to realize that it was not just her powers that lit his face, but the light that was slowly revealing them. He twitched and turned, as if having a nightmare, which was probably the case. Bonny had never been hit by Mesmeron herself, but she had seen Phyllis go through it. Phyllis never took the entire blow though…Still, Asterix was obviously suffering, but his weakening heartbeat had picked up again, very much so. The blow itself had severely burned his chest, but she had gotten to him quickly and prevented his longs from harm. The burnt skin looked pink, where it had previously been black. It was more than she had thought herself capable of. She moved her hands towards his head. Trying to calm his mind like his skin. But either she was too exhausted, or it simply did not work, because Asterix kept breathing quickly and twitching. Obelix was right next to her watching his friend as if he was agonizing too.

"We have to wake him up," He said hoarsely. Bonny shook her head. "That would not make this stop…I've seen it with Phyllis, she kept hallucinating even when she was awake." Obelix did not seem to catch her words "That's how I got this," Bonny said, turning to him and shaking back her sleeve to reveal the burned spot on her arm. Obelix caught her eyes this time. He looked at his friend again…Asterix still lived, but it was obvious that he would not get through this adventure unscratched.

They both saw Mesmeron later than Mesmeron saw them. Obelix realized that even if he managed to reach Mesmeron before he struck, Mesmeron had a big chance of evading his attack. And he would not attack Obelix if he did, but Asterix. So he just shielded his best friend and Bonny, thanking the gods for his big posture just this once, and cursing them for letting this happen.

But the blow never came.

Bonny opened her eyes, sensing Phyllis shielding them. Her eyes traveled to Goliath's back, and found it empty. She stood up, looking around wildly. She could feel Phyllis, her shield had always been different from others. Not like the impenetrable blanket Manilla's was, but more like a massive stone wall. But Phyllis was not making this shield. Her shocked eyes mirrored thoseof Mesmeron for just a moment, before something hit him from the side. Mesmeron didn't fall. Phyllis had not aimed at him. She had simply thrown herself forward and snatched the long wooden staff out of his frozen hands, pulling him along. In physical strength, Mesmeron was no match for her, and he was forced to let go. But once he no longer touched it, the staff became heavy like a massive rock. It burned in her hands, and she only managed to pull it a few meters from his owner.

"Did you really think that would work?" Mesmeron sneered at her, but he backed away nevertheless. The gesture was not lost on Bonny, and Phyllis seemed to have noticed it too, because her determined look did not weaken. She was focusing on the object with all her might, on all the powers it held, powers that were not originally Mesmerons'. But he was the one who had sealed them in this object. Her attention shifted to Mesmeron, locking him in her gaze while she did.

…

Asterix felt his head was about to burst as he tried to control the violent attack on his mind. He and Obelix arguing, over things that were supposed to be in the past. Over things that he did not even remember, but that hurt nevertheless. Images of their burning village. Why were they arguing, if the village was burning before their eyes? He tried to ask, but he had no control over his words. The scenes kept switching. Marching armies neared the village, and he had no potion to defend it. His friends were retreating to a nearby island, and he watched the boat leave. Their village burned behind him. He turned to watch the flames and something stirred in the back of his mind. He tried to focus on it. He watched the village gate. It was made out of one solid piece of wood. Where were the piles it was supposed to made of? He looked up, and saw no hut inside a tree. Three oaks at the back of the village, where Obelix menhirs were supposed to be. This was not his village. The village gates opened, and the villagers running out were strangers to him. He felt no less urged to aid them, and no less able to do so. But this was not his village. He tried to hold that thought with all his might.

The image shifted. He was inside a wide room with high ceilings, staring at a blonde woman larger than him. She looked at him with pained eyes, and he felt his heart cringe even though he didn't recognize her. Her eyes shone bright from unshed tears, emphasizing their light green color. He recognized those eyes. He had seen them in a different face, even sadder than this one.

In those tear-filled eyes, the next scene unraveled. A camp, a sense of dread as he passed the gates and neared the bodies hanging from a gallows at the center. One face, blue and distorted, he had seen not long before, even if it had just been an illusion. The stench and terror accompanying this image invaded him with such a power that he shook awake, moving to a sitting position. The image did not disappear, but he saw Phyllis and Mesmeron through it, she holding his staff, her eyes closed tight. Reality returned, and for one moment, he thought Mesmeron was using illusions on Phyllis.

But the deep cold rage behind that last image could never be Mesmeron's. Asterix was not watching illusions now, but memories, and it was Phyllis who made them flash by with a power that drove Mesmeron's attack out of his mind.

Asterix could not see it, but when Phyllis opened her eyes again, Mesmeron did see the red glint in them. It was not that that made him back away further though. It was the feral, outraged expression her face carried. Mesmeron realized the meaning behind it, but he had no time to run before she pointed his staff at his chest. He felt like it was pulling at him, and he fell to his knees, trying to grasp at the ground. His hand found support on some lost tree roots, but he could not control the powers flowing from his body. He finally recognized the attack…the one that he had never for one second expected to ever be used upon him. He had been the only one who had ever used it. His thoughts seemed to fade into a blur, twirling around and trying to grasp what he was losing.

Bonny watched as Phyllis drew Mesmerons' powers out of his struggling body. She knew it meant the end, but she did not feel the weight of the battle lift. Manilla touched her shoulder, grasping it tightly. Mesmerons' powers were traveling the air, to get sealed along with the other powers locked inside the staff. But they were brimming, and the hand that was holding them was shaking with rage. Mesmeron crumpled, and Phyllis raised the staff towards the air. Bonny recognized how the air became unstable, like it had done after Phyllis and she had fought about Mesmerons' first attack on the village. Phyllis lack of control had not done much damage back then, but she had not been holding the staff, carrying Mesmerons' power.

Bony stepped forward, cautiously, but Phyllis seemed to feel her near. Bonny froze at the expression on her pale face, and at the staff pointing towards her. Phyllis seemed to hiss at her, but he eyes were not focused on Bonny. She doubted Phyllis even saw her.

'Get back here,' Manilla whispered. Bonny backed away until she was back with Asterix, who was at his feet now, supported by Obelix.

"That staff can kill every single one of us," Manilla said, her tone low. Even though he could barely focus on reality as it was, Asterix managed to give her a skeptical look. "Including her," Manilla added, with a small nod in Phyllis direction. Asterix looked at Phyllis. She had turned to Mesmeron again. "If she attacks him like this, she'll never be able to hold back," Bonny whispered, her voice a mixture of fear and acceptance. Asterix believed her. Mesmeron had lost control of his powers against Phyllis' pure rage. Maybe Phyllis would indeed not be able to control his powers like this. But she could control her own feelings.

He felt too tired to speak, but he knew his best friend well enough to convince him without words. He managed to make Obelix let go of him as he stepped towards Phyllis. She never noticed him approaching, too focused on Mesmeron and on the staff she was trying to point at him. Mesmeron was no more than a crumpled heap. She did not need the staff to defeat him, but she did not seem to realize it. The images that had woken Asterix returned, turning him dizzy. He touched her shoulder, both to steady himself and to calm her. She turned at once. He stared into a pair of deep blue eyes. In his dazzled state, it took him a while to realize he was looking at his own eyes. Then the image blurred and he saw Phyllis' own shocked face. The rage was gone from her eyes, which meant she was safe. Now her thoughts no longer invaded his mind, he felt the images of Mesmerons' spell and the pain in his chest come back with doubled intensity. The world faded to black once again.

Asterix fell forward, and Phyllis caught him with both hands, softly lowering him to the ground where the staff shattered into pieces. The powers inside it whirled around them, as well as sharp pieces of wood that she tried to shield him from. Bonny saw that her friend had forgotten all about Mesmeron, who was scrambling back up. He was quickly cornered by some villagers. Manilla went to them at once. When Phyllis looked up again, she looked around until she found Bonny and mouthed a silent 'help' to her. The distance between them faded away with that single word. Bonny ran at her, and threw her arms around her smaller friend. With one hand, she tried to heal Asterix further, leaving the other arm around Phyllis shoulder. Even if her friend had no healing powers left, just holding her made Bonny's strength return.


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer : Réné Goscinny, Albert Uderzo…..

_A new chapter and the story is really nearing it's end now!_

For a few seconds, Phyllis and Bonny forgot about the scene around them, and Phyllis felt the panic flow away. Being without her powers was terrifying. They were part of her and she felt wounded without them. But Bonny made up for what she lacked, just like she had before, when they were still inseparable. Asterix' heartbeat was fast but steady under her palm and she realized he would live. It made her feel incredibly tired. And at peace.

But chaos ensued as Obelix and the others moved in on them. The large warrior closed his arms around his friend. He looked at the tired girls at his best friends' side. Phyllis did not know what to say to him. Goliath's warm breath blew over her. She sighed. Her powers returned to her, which meant that she still had a part to play.

Obelix carried his friend back. Getafix' hut was crowded with hurt villagers. But the druid had seen that none of them were in grave danger, and he came forward to greet Obelix.

"Bring him to his own place Obelix, if anything, he will surely need rest. I'm coming with you."

Bonny and Phyllis stood outside, fully expecting Manilla to go assist the hurt villagers. They were simply too exhausted. But Manilla was still out where Mesmeron lay defeated. Staring at him, and thinking. She knew Getafix to be calm and collected, and he had been the entire battle, until Mesmeron had struck his friend. She knew he needed to make sure Asterix was going to be okay himself. As for herself…she knew Bonny would one day surpass her. There was nothing she could add. Asterix would live. The villagers would make it, maybe cure a little faster under her hands. But there was one thing she wanted to do first.

Phyllis had never been her best pupil. Strong, a magnificent healer at her best, her powers had flared to heights and lows she had never understood. But Manilla had loved her for reasons very different from her ability as a healer. Phyllis had made Bonny laugh. Not the polite smile she reserved for everyone, but the late-night-hysterical laughter that marked a happy teenager. Every since she had decided to take care of Bonny, Manilla had felt the nagging doubt that she could not replace what was lost. Bonny carried scars that were impossible to heal, and Manilla could feel this as she grew from toddler to child. There were questions inside those brown eyes that she could never answer.

And then the girls had met. To many of the other students, Bonny was a question mark. Lovely enough, but she was not really one of them. Bonny knew the teachers and Manilla too well for that, having grown up amongst them.

Phyllis had come to them travelling with a roman army, laughing with the soldiers' rough jokes and learning of their pasts, diverse like a kaleidoscope. When she set eyes on her new home, Bonny was the first thing she noticed. Phyllis liked Bonny, and vice versa, and nothing else between them had ever mattered. With Phyllis, Bonny had become a teenager like any other. Sparkling, loud, a handful for every teacher who teamed them up. Happy. One night, they had decided their failed potion was a very nice color and painted the roof of the Forest House with it. Even though they woke up half the forest in their antics, Manilla had slept through it. Finally sure that the child she loved like a daughter was happy.

Mesmeron had torn that from them. Pulled the sparkle out of their eyes, forcing them lessons they did not need to learn. Long before their friendship wavered, their pleasure in it was gone. Manilla grew old before she first hated anyone. But she had arrived there. She could not repair the past. It was lost forever. But she saw the girls, standing together, waiting together. That was the future. And the past needed to end. Manilla had always fought for every life, with every fiber of her being. It was the highest good, the greatest value. But no life could justify Mesmeron's existence. Phyllis had managed to make a new friend, who occupied her current thoughts too much to care about him. Manilla had never dreamt it possible, but Phyllis had forgotten about Mesmeron. That would change though. She would remember. Manilla knew it did not matter if Mesmeron had his powers or not. Phyllis would not want him to live. Eight years ago, Manilla resented that idea. She had tried to push it down. Maybe she had even hated the idea of taking a life more than she hated Mesmeron himself.

She accepted it now. As Manilla took the sword and drove it across Mesmerons' neck, she could not help but feel relieved. Phyllis might never trust her again, but at least she would know that Manilla had accepted her decision.

"Why isn't he calming down?" Obelix asked, repeating himself for the fifth time. Getafix explained that he gave Asterix something to relieve the pain, but Asterix' face showed no sign of relaxing. "Why doesn't it work?"

Getafix sighed. Asterix was in no immediate danger. Getafix had seen which shape he had been in, and seeing how much Bonny had gotten him recovered, he wondered if he should not be more worried about her than Asterix.

He walked to the door and beckoned the girls in. They both looked awful, exhausted, Phyllis scarred and torn up, both of them white as sheets. He motioned for them to sit down, and even Phyllis did not argue with him before accepting the cup of tea he offered her.

"I gave him pain-relief, but it doesn't really seem to work." Getafix said. "Or rather, it does, but…."

"He has nightmares," Phyllis said. "Pain-relief just doesn't help against that."

Getafix realized all too well she was the only person at hand who could tell him more about what was happening to Asterix right now. But he was not sure how much more she could handle.

"Asterix never has nightmares, he always sleeps well," Obelix reasoned. Phyllis looked at him. She felt so tired, too tired to argue. She could barely think anymore. Obelix was put off by her lack of arguments. "I mean, he sometimes stays up when there are trouble in the village but…. he's just not the type to…."

"Neither am I. Or I wasn't. But that's what I remember. I must have been hurt quite badly, but I just remember the dreams." She tried to focus. "How did you make them go away?" she asked Bonny.

"I-I-didn't." Bonny said. "But they didn't go away when you woke up, so that won't help. Finally your mom managed to calm you down."

"The dreams came back once I remembered about Goliath," Phyllis glanced at Bonny's sleeve. "But they did stop…that was mom?" Bonny just nodded. "I left the Forest House without even realizing she was there," Phyllis said, shaking her head. She stood up.

"I know how my mom stopped those dreams. I'll need your help though, Obelix. But we first have to go and check on the others."

"But…"

"You don't think Asterix would want us to check on them first? We'll just be gone for a minute."

Obelix did not see why they both had to go, why even one of them had to go when there were other healers and Getafix around, and Asterix was still lying unconscious, twitching every now and then. But he went with her.

It had been a real fight. The odds had never been so even, and it showed on his fellow villagers. But they had stood together, and no one was lost. Someone broke a leg, Fulliautomatix had burned his hand. "No bad," he whispered to Obelix. "It will heal completely. How's Asterix?"

Obelix did not know what to answer. "Getafix said he'd recover," he finally said. The doubt in his voice was clear, and Unhygienix and Fulliautomatix gave each other a worried look.

"Is anyone missing?" Phyllis asked. "I don't think so," Obelix said vaguely. Her intent gaze made him look again. He did not miss anyone but the most obvious person. Unhygienix shook his head. "No, all complete….it's been a close call but…Toutatis looked over us."

"Good," Phyllis was turning on her heels as she said so, and Obelix followed her once again.

"Why does it matter so much to you? I mean, not that I think …. you just don't know most of us very well."

Phyllis shook her head "I know no one of you very well. That's why I can't help to stop the nightmares like my mother. At least not without you." Obelix looked at her questioningly.

"She showed me images. It's not really a healing technique. When I was little she read stories to me. Sometimes, if I was upset, she pictured them for me, image by image. We can encourage people to heal faster; we share our mindset with them. Everybody can actually. Every parent who sings a lullaby does it." She took a deep breath.

"When Mesmeron attacked me, he drove out every trace of happiness I had left. Mom showed me memories…the very happy ones that made clear Mesmerons illusions were lies."

They entered the hut again. Asterix lay back on his pillow. His forehead was glistening with sweat.

"But there was a catch. Not all of it were illusions. Goliath was really gone, and that was the image that haunted me most. My mother was so anxious to bring me back, I don't think she even realized what happened to Goliath. She just kept showing her to me. I woke up thinking the world was okay. And it wasn't. I know she meant to save me, but if I think back on that period now…..I remember the curse, but that lie is what still hurts today"

She pulled out a stool, and indicated for Obelix to sit down.

"I don't know Asterix that well. I don't know his past, the happy or the sad parts. But if you share them with me, they can replace whatever Mesmeron imprinted in his mind. If anyone had died though, I think it would have been bad if we ignored that."

Obelix gave it some thought. She was right. If she did not know Asterix well, she certainly understood him. Because not being able to protect his fellow villagers would definitely be Asterix' worst nightmare.

Phyllis pulled out another stool, and put it at the other side of the bed. As she sat down, she reached for Asterix' forehead and frowned. "He's burning up." Obelix eyes shot up. "But that's normal, since his injuries heal so fast. Fever is not an illness," she added. She concentrated on her left hand, and the noise of the waterfall at Getafix'hut. It was faint, but the sound promised clear cold water. And it worked. His temperature went down a little.

She tried to grab Obelix' hand. But being not the largest of persons she couldn't reach him. Eventually she placed herself sitting next to Asterix on the bed, her feet dangling down from the side and her face towards the pale warrior. She motioned for Obelix to put his hand on Asterix' chest, and placed her right hand on top of it. Obelix looked quite unsure.

"Just thinking of your own memories should be enough," Phyllis said.

Obelix tried to focus. Phyllis closed her eyes, but she still saw Asterix' face. She looked at Obelix, and saw him staring at Asterix. She sighed.

"Close your eyes." She said.

"But…."

"I'll start. My memories may not mean much to him, but they'll be better than what is in his head right now."

Obelix closed his eyes. He saw the surface of a wide lake, glistening in the sunlight. Around it, the forest spread. It was quiet, but voices sounded from behind. The vision turned, towards a horse he immediately recognized, and a younger Bonny talking to a much smaller girl. It took him a few moments to realize it was Phyllis herself. Wasn't this her own memory then? She looked even younger than Bonny, thirteen, maybe fourteen. Phyllis' hair was bound back in a rough ponytail. He had not recognized her at first because she was quite tanned. She was skinny, long-limbed even if she was small, and she looked infinitely healthier than he had seen her up to now. Bonny was wearing a dress much like he had seen her wear when she arrived in the village, while Phyllis wore a pair of knee-length pants and a brightly colored tunic. No trace of the black that seemed to follow her around today.

The girls'voices rose up in his mind, Phyllis' voice sounding loudest. "I know she hates water. But she loves racing. I just have to combine the two, she won't mind a bit."

"Phyl, I don't think….." Bonny started.

"Just watch!" Phyllis pulled herself onto Goliath's back, and they sped towards the water. Goliath stopped centimeters before her hooves touched it, sending Phyllis flying of her back, and face-first into the water. Bonny ran to her, just to see Phyllis sit back up, shaking hair and water from her surprised face. There were green leaves on top of her head. Bonny offered her hand, snickering while she did so. For a second, Phyllis looked grumpy, but then she just took the offered hand and stood up. Bonny turned her back to her. "She'll get in eventually, she just gave you head start, " Bonny said, erupting into laughs that quickly turned to shrieks as Phyllis kicked some water over her. Soon they were soaking themselves as they sent water flying in all directions.

Obelix heart slowed as he watched the scene play before his closed eyes. He could almost feel the warmth of the summer air, the water drops hitting his skin. It was not his memory, but he recognized the bickering, the playful banter. The easy friendship. He couldn't help open his eyes for a while. Phyllis face was blank, her eyes closed as well. He wondered how she felt, looking back. He glanced at Asterix. He lay still, panting slightly, but he looked somewhat less pained. Obelix wondered if he could see the memory too. He hoped so.

He closed his eyes again. The scene faded, and next he was racing through the wind, over the sand of the beach, on a rhythmic beat. Even at the speed it crossed by, Obelix recognized the scenery. Phyllis was riding Goliath, and every time her hooves hit the ground, a shiver of joy ran through them. Home, home, home. The word repeated over and over in his mind. He realized that Phyllis did not choose her memories at random, at least not this one. Living through this memory now, Obelix knew he never had reason to doubt her. That she would never have betrayed them. Asterix risked his life for this scene, and beside the joy of being reunited with someone she loved, the knowledge that somebody was willing to give Phyllis this moment had formed a fire inside her, melting her frozen powers. The memory showed just how important saving Goliath had really been. Asterix had saved the village the moment he decided to go and look for her.

Obelix felt Phyllis' hand stir.

"It's your turn now," she whispered.


	32. Chapter 32

_The one but least chapter! Which means this story should be finished before the end of 2011….2012 will probably bring a new album…..That makes me feel all sort of thing, but most of all, it gives me the Saint-Nicolas kind of feeling. Because Asterix is part of my childhood….I don't mind the other story writers really. Goscinny has always been a superior text writer and I'm sure I will continue to miss his subtlety. But I think we deserve an album without purple aliens. I'm actually quite worried about the announcements for the next real-live movie in which they will make Asterix a bit "annoying". They have done that in the past in the movies without actually saying it and I fear it will be even worse. That is not how I see Asterix at all. If being stubborn and standing behind your ideas means you're annoying…_

_I try to picture him differently. Stubborn, sometimes, a bit hot-headed, maybe. But I have always thought Asterix was a sort of prototype for the best friend you could have, and that is what I try to bring across in my story. Because having one good friend can make all the difference in the world_.

The sound of the rooster seemed fainter than usual to Asterix. Even the light coming in through the window seemed blurred. His head was dull, heavy with sleep. And he was warm. He tried to move, but felt he couldn't. As he tilted his head, he spotted Obelix. He hung heavily on the bedpost, slumbering, his large hand still on Asterix' chest. As Asterix turned his head, he met a mess of tangled black hair. Phyllis lay on her side next to him, her hand too still on his chest, glowing faintly, even though she seemed fast asleep. The burnt smell in her hair made reality crash in, made his heartbeat quicken. Still, if Phyllis and Obelix were both here, that was good news, wasn't it? And he remembered Phyllis, after attacking Mesmeron, and him touching her shoulder. He relaxed. He knew he got hurt worse than he had ever been, but he only felt immensely tired. There had been dreams, lots of them. Nightmares, but they felt faint, like dreams tended to be once you woke up. Others felt vivid, and they were easier to recall since they were part of his memory as well as of his slumber.

Obelix and him, sitting at the table of his house and looking at the sums Getafix gave them, while his mother was in the background, preparing dinner. He heard himself turn the numbers into boars, and he felt glee as Obelix finally found the answer.

He recalled the dreams one by one, many part of his journeys, and he realized that Obelix was never in the images that passed his mind, though he was always there. They were memories. Memories meant apparently to drive away the horrid images Mesmerons' spell caused. He saw himself grow older, many of their journeys passing. His cousin in Great Britain, Corsica, their journey back from Hispania. He saw himself standing on the pedestal at the Olympic Games. The moment had not been that important to him, since it involved quite a bit of cheating to get on that pedestal. But Obelix apparently thought it was a great memory. Come to think of it, he DID outsmart them, even if he didn't outrun his competitors. He smiled.

Their feasts and their walks through the village, his long talks to Getafix while the others were fighting over the latest not fresh or fresh fish (not fresh of course)…. Asterix always thought Obelix was too focused on the fight to notice his absence during those moments. But apparently he realized very well how much Asterix valued Getafix…..

The door creaked open. Bonny entered, and he was shocked at her worn disposure. "She looks worse than the three of us," he thought. "Or at least, she looks worse then I feel." Yet, as she settled next to Phyllis and smiled at him, Asterix realized it was the first time he saw her smile reach her eyes.

Bonny combed back Phyllis hair with her fingers, revealing her face, as pale as ever. And a bruised eye and cut upper lip. Asterix flinched.

"Yeah, it doesn't look pretty. But still, I haven't seen her sleep without flinching for ages. I would start healing her but…"

"Don't even think about it." Phyllis murmured, "You'll kill yourself."

"You're one to talk. Sleeping won't do you much good if you keep on healing people while you do so."

Phyllis shifted. "I'm not…" She spotted her glowing hand and stopped talking. "Oh," she added faintly, falling back to her original position.

Bonny looked at Asterix. "How do you feel?"

"Good, actually, tired…but good."

"You healed quite fast. Most of your injuries are gone, but that doesn't mean you body won't need time to recover."

They sat in silence for a while. Asterix noticed that Phyllis was dozing off again, while Obelix was slowly waking up. Finally, Bonny spoke again.

"You're right," she said to Phyllis. "I'm not fit to heal you right now. But I CAN carry you to Getafix and Manilla. She stood up again and lifted her smaller friend from the bed before she could protest. Once she had steadied Phyllis, she looked back at Obelix and Asterix. "I'll tell Getafix that you're awake."

"Oh my God Bonny, I'm not five you know," Phyllis complained, but she didn't struggle, which probably meant she was too exhausted for it.

"You sure? Because you don't weigh much more." Bonny answered dryly as she walked through the door. Their bickering continued, fading as Bonny continued towards Getafix'hut.

"They'll be fine," Asterix smiled. He noticed Obelix' worried look and added "And so will I, so don't you worry."

"You almost died!"

"I know." Asterix wanted to add something, but he realized there was little he could say. That Bonny did not try to heal Phyllis was meaningful enough. She had used all of her strength to keep him alive. Obelix looked so worried that Asterix was surprised he had managed to recall all those great moments. This reminded Asterix of something:

"I saw Phyllis, riding Goliath? Well I didn't really see her but…"

Obelix eyes lit "I think she showed you, or uhm, well us, that memory on purpose. After all, it happened because of you." He reflected over the memories Phyllis showed them.

"You also remember the other one, in which she was younger? I could see her in that memory. I wonder why…."

Asterix thought for a moment. "Maybe it wasn't her own memory."

"That makes sense. She learned that from her mother. Maybe it was her mother looking at them," He paused. "They looked happy. Do you think they will ever be friends again?"

"Who knows," Asterix was feeling incredibly tired. "They were bickering again as they left here. Friends tend to do that…" he smiled, closing his eyes again. Obelix watched his friend drift back to sleep with mixed feelings. Asterix seemed well enough, except for the part where he could barely finish two sentences before drifting off. But after watching him for a while to make sure the nightmares did not return, Obelix stood up. The village has suffered quite a battle yesterday. He was pretty sure they could use him outside.

It was almost sunset when Asterix woke up again, this time to discover Getafix near his bed. The old man looked a bit worn out too, but most of all, he looked impossibly gleeful.

"You look very happy," Asterix said. "I take it no one got hurt?"

"Oh I wouldn't go that far. Our best warrior took quite a beating," Getafix said, his eyes twinkling. And some of the others have injuries. But with a few healers and myself running about, that is nothing to worry about," he added quickly, seeing Asterix' alarmed face.

"There is a lot of reason to be happy though. So much was gained yesterday. you did it again, Asterix."

"I didn't do that much. If it weren't for Phyllis…"

"We would have lost, yes. But she would not have been here if it weren't for you. She wouldn't have had her horse to help her if it weren't for you. But most of all, she fought for the future because of you. She chose life."

"I'm not sure I follow that…"

"Phyllis held all of Mesmerons power in that staff. If she had shot it back at him, she would have destroyed him. But she would have had to use all of her strength to do so. She wouldn't have survived."

"So Mesmeron is still alive."

Getafix stood up. "I never thought I would see the day were Manilla valued one life over the other. But she did. Mesmeron is dead, and Phyllis won't have to make her decision about that anymore. But between you and me, I think she made it when she let go of that staff to catch you."

"I don't think she meant to drop it. It was probably an accident."

"Maybe. But she has come to see me, Manilla and the others before she started healing you, and we have visited you many times throughout the night. She hasn't asked about Mesmeron. Not once."

"It was clear he was defeated, even if she didn't kill him."

"And thanks to you, and Obelix too, that became enough." Getafix fixed his gaze on the blond warrior. "For years, Phyllis' story has been one of revenge. Revenge on Mesmeron, revenge on the teacher she once trusted. She has built her powers around it, pushing away every other emotion and I don't blame Manilla for fearing what Phyllis became. Manilla thought Phyllis would lose herself in this battle. That is why she tried to prevent it."

"You can't prevent a warrior from fighting when there is a cause." Asterix remarked.

"Sometimes, preventing them to fight without a cause is almost just as difficult," said Getafix, thinking warily of all the fish fights that had left their village is disarray. "But that is what you saw in her. Instead of a healer losing her core, you saw a warrior, with a cause that she was not meant to ignore. You recognized her for what she was. And you accepted her, even if it meant taking all the dark powers around it with that acceptance. I think Phyllis never accepted herself as much as you did. She has always been surrounded by peace and the will to reach harmony. Sure, she has seen soldiers before she met you, but you and I know most roman soldiers are born in their profession.

"So am I, actually."

"But you have always had a choice, Asterix. More than one, actually. Your parents are merchandisers now, you were the brightest student of your class….You could have become a druid, if you had chosen to. I've thought for a while that you would."

Asterix' eyes were wide as saucers at that statement.

"Maybe I should have saved that for a moment…well, less close to your near-death-experience. But my point is, Phyllis recognized her own will to act and fight in you, and she recognized it as a good thing. You have helped her accept herself. That is why she succeeded where she failed in the past.

And both you and Obelix, staying with you, she must have really missed her best friend. When she dropped that staff to support you, she chose life instead of revenge. Helping someone towards that choice is… I can't really describe what it means. But it will change things. For Phyllis, for her parents and her sister. For everyone who shares Manilla, Bonny and Phyllis' power. It is hard to estimate the full consequences of everything that transpired in our village for the past weeks. But I am very, very proud of you, Asterix."

Asterix felt somewhat dizzy. "It won't be easy though," he said. "For Phyllis to start over. She can't just pick up again….Marcus is gone." He looked at Getafix. "I saw a Roman turn into his image at the battlefield. I knew from the beginning it was an illusion. And even then I hoped I could keep it from disappearing. I can't imagine what it must have been like for her. She attacked him. She knew it was an illusion but still….I don't think I could have done that in her place"

"Phyllis has had eight years to come to terms with Marcus death. For all the experience you have gained over the years Asterix, you still have to come to terms with the knowledge that some things are irreversible."

Asterix sank back in his pillow, looking slightly defeated. He felt tired again, and he closed his eyes.

"It might not be a completely happy end," Getafix said "But at least there will be a new beginning."


	33. Chapter 33

_The last disclaimer: Réné Goscinny, Albert Uderzo_

_The last chapter!_

Two weeks later the scars of the destructive battle that took place in their village were erased, many thanks to Obelix, who appeared quite apt a dealing out orders when the occasion called for it. Some of the village's inhabitants were not yet quite as fit as before. But that was only a matter of time, and so tables were being set for another great dinner, although it was still an early afternoon. Roasting boar took some time, after all.

Asterix and Phyllis both sat on the bench in front of his house, absorbing the rays of sun that hit them.

"It's a good time to travel south," Asterix remarked.

"Yeah. Following the light. Imagine that," Phyllis smirked, but her soft tone betrayed that she was not being entirely ironic.

"Are sure you're not going to stay for the dinner? I know you want to see your parents ,but one more evening….." He gave his own comment some thought, and shook his head. "Forget I said that, I mean of course you want to go right now. It's just…."

"You want to make sure we arrive safely….I get it. But you also know that will not be a problem," Phyllis said. "You need some more time to recover, Asterix, and frankly, so do I. I'm not ready for parties. I…I just never imagined there would be a life for me after Mesmeron."

She stared at the patch of grass where Goliath was grazing in the sunlight, Bravura curled up on her back. There was more she wanted to say, more thoughts swarming her mind. It was easier when she had no voice. After fighting Mesmeron, she had gotten a cold. Despite the healers in the village all being in recovery, Getafix had taken good care of her. But she had not been able to utter more than a whisper for several days. It hadn't mattered; she had felt comfortable watching in silence how life in the village regained its usual pace.

She and Bonny would travel south tonight. She did not know exactly where her parents lived nowadays, but she knew it had to be somewhere in Greece, near Athens. If they had changed plans on that, they would have let her know somehow. And since her father was quite well known in Athens, tracking them would not be that hard.

She had not talked much with Bonny, but she had accepted her request to accompany her. Frankly, she was sick of being lonely. And while she sat here, chatting with Asterix and being waved at by the villagers, she realized she wasn't. Traveling home was something that she had longed for desperately….but it did mean giving up on this feeling of being welcome, being cared for. At least for a while. Phyllis would miss that. She would miss Obelix and Asterix and how they didn't judge. How they had accepted her. She would miss Asterix. But unlike her, he was surrounded by friends, and he had them in every corner of the world. He would never be lonely. He had a home. She was not sure if he would miss her, and she was not going to ask.

It almost seemed like Asterix had nothing to fear in the world. Phyllis knew it wasn't true. No one who cared and loved could ever be that way. But still, he knew what he wanted and where he belonged, and she didn't. He had given her the chance to discover. And that was what she intended to do.

Asterix broke the silence: "I know you didn't imagine it. Life. But if you hadn't hoped for it, you wouldn't be here today, wouldn't you? You'll be fine."

Phyllis stood up: "I'm going to help Bonny pack the horses. It's good that Getafix lends us some potion for the horses, they would faint under the things Bonny collected here if he didn't.

Asterix raised an eyebrow: "So those three bags standing in my living room belong to Bonny? Interesting. I don't recall her bringing them there. And I don't recall you carrying them with you from the forest either."

"Shut up Asterix."

He smiled and leant back in the sun.

Phyllis led Goliath towards Bonny, who had been watching them while she was fumbling with the equipment to pack the horses. "I have no clue how this works," she murmured.

"Of course not, you were way to busy spying on me to pay attention. And you're holding those ropes upside down."

They worked in silence for a while, saddling and packing. "Are you really planning to use the potion for the horses?" Bonny asked.

"Why, would you rather carry your horse then? It will catch a lot of attention, I can tell you."

"Riding at lightning speed won't?"

"We'll hold back."

"Yeah, that's really like you Phyllis, holding back."

Bonny stared at the dining table that was being set. Obelix was explaining something to Asterix in front of the stand the boars were roasting on. Asterix answered and chuckled, but without paying too much attention. Bonny felt like it was a conversation they had held many times before. Would she and Phyllis ever become that way again? There was a time they would have discussed what really mattered, instead of their way of traveling. But how could she offer advice when they had barely started to talk again? Still, Phyllis had accepted her to come along….

"You know," she started "They really want you to stay for this celebration. We could still…"

Phyllis shook her head. "It's…I'm not really into lengthy goodbyes. And that's still what this is. I like it here. I'm not sure where mom and dad live now, how they are doing. I don't think they really believed I would still return one day." She stopped.

"It doesn't really feel like going home then," Bonny offered.

"It does. There is nothing I want more than to return to them. For now."

They stayed silent for a while.

"Well," Bonny said, "At least there is always a goodbye kiss to give." Her smile quickly faded when she noticed Phyllis' terrified look. She stepped forward to hug her smaller friend in comfort, but Phyllis leapt away, and started to fuss with the equipment again. Bonny sighed, exasperated.

"Oh, come on, Phyllis. Asterix likes you. And for someone like you, saying goodbye isn't final. You've always traveled, to Greece and back and once where there you can return. Besides, the Forest House is my home. Weak and helpless as I am, I will need you to return there."

This time, Phyllis did smile. A blush went to her cheeks. "I don't kiss people," she said. "Not for goodbyes." Cryptic as he words were, she still looked around wildly to check if there was no one around, and Bonny laughed.

"Come on, before you have to murder someone for overhearing you."

Half an hour later, the villagers were gathered, and the two girls stood in front of Vitalstatistix, who was holding the most elaborate goodbye speech they had ever heard. Or Bonny had heard, because Phyllis did not seem to catch a word of it. Bonny prodded her when the chief was finished, hoping that her friend would be able to pronounce something sensible. Phyllis took some time to react.

" I….I never thought I would walk away from Mesmeron one day. Well I used to but then…" She took a deep breath to control her rambling.

"But now I'm free. I had stopped imagining ever being so, so it feels surreal. I had kind of accepted I would never seem my family again. Being able to return to them is indescribable. So thanks, for accepting me, for helping me and for standing behind me. When I made the choice to fight Mesmeron with his own weapons, I knew it meant I would be alone. But I did not know how hard that would be, or how much it would change me… Still, while I was here, I remembered what it was like, not being alone. That why I want to find my parents first, before celebrating…Let them know I'm still alive."

Asterix stepped forward. "We understand. You know Phyllis, celebration dinners are not exactly rare in our village. Missing out on this one isn't the end of the world; you can always catch the next one."

She stared at him with saucer-like eyes, and Bonny silently thanked Toutatis, because Asterix had, probably without knowing, taken away one more of Phyllis's fears.

Phyllis responded with a tight hug, which instantly reminded Asterix that he was indeed still recovering.

"I'll miss you,"

It was nothing but a whisper, but he heard it nevertheless. A few weeks ago, that same voice had threatened him, scorned him, yelled at him. Yet these few whispered words were easier to believe.

"I'll miss you too….so do come back to visit us ok? And if you are ever in trouble, which I know is very unlikely…(Phyllis snorted)…let us know."

Phyllis let go of him. "That goes for you too," she said, giving Asterix one of the intense looks he had learnt to know well, even if he had first seen it only weeks ago. "I know your regular share of Romans is nothing but exercise, but…" she trailed off, trying to look for something that woúld require her help. It was hard to imagine. She realized the chance they would ever need each others' help again was slim.

"It's true that most people think the magic potion rules out the possibility we would ever need help," Asterix said. "But, I'm glad you're not one of them."

Phyllis looked away. "The magic potion is just a tool, Asterix. It will always be just that. It is not what makes this village invincible. Although I'm sure it helps…"

Asterix laughed: "Oh yes, it helps, and not a little. But I understand what you mean."

Phyllis started to back away towards Goliath, although she did not turn round. Goliath walked towards her, touching her head as they reached each other, urging her rider to take action. Phyllis grabbed the reins almost automatically. Her smile returned.

"No second thoughts about riding with magic potion?" Asterix asked. "Bonny seems to have some." He pointed towards a very insecure looking horse and rider, who eyed each other with suspicion. It was clear Bonny preferred carriages. Without any magical enhancements on the animals that pulled them.

Phyllis flashed him a grin. "Nope." She took the top of the bottle she had received from Getafix earlier, and gave some drops to both horses. Next, she all but pushed Bonny on her horse, and jumped on Goliath herself. Her face relaxed.

"Take hold of the manes, not the reins and you'll be fine," She instructed Bonny.

"Yeah sure, I'll just let go of the steering," Bonny snorted.

Phyllis smiled again. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm a good guide." As she winked at Asterix, he almost swore he saw some of the familiar golden twinkle in her eyes. But then they set off, and in merely seconds, both horses and riders were well gone. Which made waving them goodby feel quite superficial

"Well, then," Obelix said. "Time for dinner, don't you think?"

As always, their adventure ended with a large feast, and Cacofonix almost made it half through before Fulliautomatix lost patience with him. Manilla was still there, though tomorrow she would return to the Forest House. She would have to look for a new teacher soon, because, as she told Asterix and Getafix, Bonny was one of the people who taught the new arrivals at the Forest House. It was clear she did not expect Bonny to part from Phyllis soon.

Chewing on some boar, Obelix managed to get a remark in between the conversation: "Phyllis was actually also a good teacher. Except for the attacking part…."

"I'm not sure Phyllis can ever feel at home at the Forest House again," said Manilla. "But I will not give up hope ever again that she will."

Obelix looked at Asterix, who shrugged. Truth to be told he had no idea if that would ever be the case.

"Is there not quite a big chance that Phyllis younger sister will be a healer?" Getafix asked.

"It's not a law, but since Myrna and Phyllis are both healers, and Lucius too, if you think about it…that is indeed quite possible," Manilla agreed.

"Well," Getafix said. "As the saying goes, home is where the heart is. Time will tell us where it will lead."

Asterix rolled his eyes. It was nothing but a wise way of saying they all had no clue. But it did sound nice, of course. He felt happy. What had started out as the grimmest adventure ever, had somehow not destroyed their village, but left it stronger once again. Safer. He believed Phyllis. They had made a new friend, one who could stand her ground even against the unusual dangers his village sometimes attracted. He hoped Phyllis felt the same. Being invincible was great. Knowing you did not always have to be, turned out to feel even better.

The end.


End file.
